A discrimination suit has been filed by the U.S. Justice Department against a Phoenix-area community college system for allegedly demanding non-citizens to show extra paperwork, beyond what was required under federal law, before they could be hired.
The Maricopa County Community College District faces the latest challenge to immigration policies in Arizona by the Justice Department. After a yearlong probe, Justice Department officials say they uncovered “a pattern or practice of discrimination” by the community college system. Nearly 250 non-citizen job applicants were required to present green cards and other work-eligibility documents beyond those required by federal law over a period of 18 months.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Zainul Singaporewalla, a U.S. permanent resident, says that Glendale Community College withdrew a part-time math teaching job offer even after Singaporewalla produced a California driver’s license, Social Security card and a Department of Homeland Security form attesting to his permanent legal status. The college demanded Signaporewalla fill out more immigration paperwork and present a green card.
Thomas E. Perez, the assistant attorney general who heads the Civil Rights Division, said the Immigration and Nationality Act’s anti-discrimination clause “makes it unlawful to treat authorized workers differently during the hiring process based on their citizenship status.”
Arizona has been at the center of the immigration debate, even making a splash on the international stage this week after the Department of State referenced its lawsuit against the state over SB 1070 in a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Justice Department is also investigating Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for alleged civil rights abuses.
Officials at the college declined to comment on the suit, citing the ongoing investigation. However, a state official, not authorized to speak about the lawsuit, criticized the Justice Department’s choice of words in a news release announcing the legal challenge.
“If they didn’t use ‘immigration’ in the headline of their press release, this wouldn’t have been a flashpoint,” the official said. “I don’t think their new release would have attracted as much attention as it did.”
The headline read: “Justice Department files a lawsuit alleging immigration-related employment discrimination.”
Really? Will they start asking me for my birth certificate in the future now too because I’m brown?…misguided immigration polices gone amok…somebody needs to stop them!
DO THEY NEED TO SEE YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE. THE ONLY MISGUIDED PEOPLE I READ ABOUT
IS THE ONES THAT WANT TO GIVE AWAY THIS COUNTRY, THE POLICE ARE TRYING TO KEEP EGG HEADS LIKE YOU SAFE. THE LAWS THEY ARE TRYING TO UP HOLD ARE ON THE BOOKS. SO LETS HELP ENFORCE THEM, NOT TEAR THEM DOWN FOR DOING WHAT IS RIGHT. IF PEOPLE WANT TO COME HERE TO WORK & LIVE DO IT LIKE MILLIONS HAVE DONE BEFORE ” DO IT LIKE THE LAW SAYS AND DO IT THE RIGHT WAY.