Department of Justice Announces Grants for Training on Prevention of Immigration-related Job Discrimination

WASHINGTON - The Department of Justice today announced the award of $710,500 in grants to 11 groups serving communities throughout the country, to conduct public education programs for workers and employers about immigration-related job discrimination.

The grants, which range from $40,000 to $100,000, are being awarded by the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) of the Civil Rights Division. Recipients will assist discrimination victims; conduct seminars for workers, employers and immigration service providers; distribute educational materials in various languages; and place advertisements in local communities through both mainstream and ethnic media.

“The Public Education grant program enables OSC to collaborate with professional and community-based organizations to educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities under the anti-discrimination provisions of our immigration laws,” said Grace Chung Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Our grantee organizations play a vital role in helping OSC to prevent immigration-related discrimination in the workplace.”

The mission of OSC is to educate both legally authorized workers and their employers about the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), enforce legal protections against citizenship and national-origin discrimination, and document abuse in hiring and firing.

The 2008 OSC grant recipients are:

Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California

Catholic Charities of Dallas

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Palm Beach

City of Phoenix Equal Opportunity Department

Colorado Legal Services

League of United Latin-American Citizens

Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles

Lutheran Children and Family Services of Eastern Pennsylvania

Nachman & Associates

National Immigration Law Center

New York City Human Rights Commission