The Justice Department is suing SpaceX for discriminating against refugees and asylum seekers

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Thursday alleging that Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX, violated the Immigration and Nationality Act by discouraging refugees and asylum recipients from applying for employment and by refusing to hire them at all. The Department also noted that the company falsely claimed it was unable to hire those who are not U.S. citizens due to export control laws.

 “Our investigation found that SpaceX failed to fairly consider or hire asylees and refugees because of their citizenship status and imposed what amounted to a ban on their hire regardless of their qualification, in violation of federal law,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Record numbers of migrants crossing the dangerous Darién Gap highlights the necessity of safe migration pathways

The Panamanian government released figures stating that 250,000 people crossed the Darién Gap from January through July 2023, a number that matches the total crossings in all of 2022, which had been the highest yearly number ever recorded. The UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are calling for updated migration systems and a collaborative, comprehensive and regional approach to better respond to humanitarian and protection needs of migrants in the Latin American and Caribbean region. 

One way the U.S. government is responding to high numbers of people migrating in these areas is through the establishment of regional processing centers, or Safe Mobility Offices (SMO), where migrants can access free screenings to inform them of which lawful pathways into the U.S. they might be eligible.