DOJ Seeks to Drop SpaceX Anti-Immigrant Hiring Accusations

The Trump administration plans to dismiss administrative proceedings against Elon Musk’s SpaceX over alleged discrimination against immigrant job applicants.

The case had been on pause for over a year since the rocket manufacturer won a court order blocking the proceedings, arguing that the US Justice Department’s internal judge system was unconstitutional. DOJ attorneys Thursday asked a Texas federal judge to temporarily lift a preliminary injunction so they can file a dismissal notice at the agency’s Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer.

Administrative law judges hear cases involving violation of laws or regulations at a number of agencies. SpaceX is one of several corporations that have challenged those adjudicators on constitutional grounds.

The same day that DOJ attorneys filed the SpaceX motion, Justice Department Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle issued a statement that removal protections for administrative law judges are unconstitutional, a position that puts the agency in alignment with those challengers.

“Unelected and constitutionally unaccountable ALJs have exercised immense power for far too long,” Mizelle said. “In accordance with Supreme Court precedent, the Department is restoring constitutional accountability so that Executive Branch officials answer to the President and to the people.”

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in 2022 that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s administrative law judges have unconstitutional removal protections. District judges within the Fifth Circuit have cited that precedent from Jarkesy v. SEC to freeze administrative cases at the National Labor Relations Board, including a case involving SpaceX.

SpaceX also attacked the removal protections in the immigration case via a lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas. District Court Judge Rolando Olvera, an Obama appointee, granted the company’s request to pause the underlying administrative case, although he didn’t rely on the Fifth Circuit’s Jarkesy decision.

Bias Allegations

In its 2023 administrative complaint, DOJ alleged that SpaceX had violated anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act by discouraging asylees and refugees from applying for openings at the company.

Musk claimed the company was barred from hiring non-US citizens or permanent residents because of federal restrictions on information sharing involving national security technology. Other companies, including General Motors, have run afoul of anti-discrimination laws by complying with export control rules in an overly broad manner.

Musk was a high-profile backer of President Donald Trump’s reelection efforts. Since Trump’s inauguration, Musk has played a key role with his newly-created Department of Government Efficiency, which has led an agenda to slash jobs and contracts across federal agencies.

The Justice Department and SpaceX didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on plans to drop the hiring bias case.

SpaceX was represented by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

The case is Space Exploration Technologies Corp. v. Bell, S.D. Tex., No. 1:23-cv-00137, motion to lift preliminary injunction 2/20/25.