W ASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that it has awarded $723,000 in grants to twelve groups serving communities throughout the country, to conduct public education programs for workers and employers about federal protections against immigration-related job discrimination.

        The grants, which range from $48,000 to $87,000, are being awarded by the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) of the department’s 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 to educate workers and employers about their rights.

        OSC enforces the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which protects U.S. and authorized immigrant workers against citizenship and national origin discrimination.  As part of its mission, OSC also educates workers and their employers about the anti-discrimination provision.

        “Awarding grants to professional and community-based organizations better enables us to educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities under federal immigration law,” said Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Our grant recipients, who are well known and respected in their communities, will collaborate with us to prevent immigration-related discrimination in the workplace.”

        The OSC grant recipients are:
               
        Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Civil Rights Division               

        Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California

        Catholic Charities of Dallas

        Catholic Charities, Diocese of St. Petersburg, Fla.

        Colorado Legal Services

        Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA)

        National Farm Worker Service Center

        National Immigration Law Center (NILC)

        New York City Human Rights Commission

        Texas RioGrande Legal Aid

        University of Iowa

        Washington Farm Labor Association

        For more information about protections against job discrimination under federal immigration law, call 800-255-7688, 202-616-5594, email: osc.crt@usdoj.gov or visit http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc # # #