TechTalk: NASA doesn’t employ foreigners, but US has sued Elon Musk for not hiring immigrants at SpaceX

Elon Musk has had several dust-ups with the American system over the years. In the latest tussle, the US Justice Department is suing Elon Musk’s SpaceX for alleged discriminatory practices against immigrants and asylum seekers, and not hiring them.

Most people, who are not ardent fans of Elon Musk, often dismiss his cries against the US’ Left establishment as baseless. This time though, Elon Musk might be right when he says that he is the target of a witch hunt. The US Justice Department suing SpaceX for not hiring immigrants may be stemming from ignorance at best, or worse, reckless hypocrisy.

Why Elon Musk is being sued this time
The US Justice Department has accused Elon Musk’s Tesla of “routinely discouraging asylees and refugees from applying to SpaceX for a job, and refusing to hire or even consider them, because of their citizenship status.”

The lawsuit also alleges that SpaceX falsely claimed in its hiring listings that only green card holders and United States citizens could work at the company owing to federal export control laws.

American companies that work with rockets, spacecraft or similar technology that can be weaponised, need to abide by certain regulations that dictate how and who these companies can hire.

One such regulation would be the International Traffic in Arms Regulations or ITAR. Itar imposes constraints on the dissemination of critical information related to launch systems for rockets and missiles that American companies are working on, to foreigners because of national security issues.

NASA’s employment policies
NASA, the epitome of America’s space prowess for years, at its peak, categorically refused to hire people of foreign origin, unless they were approved by the FBI, the Secretary of Defense, and in certain cases, even the President.

To this day, NASA’s website reflects the same sentiment, although it does not provide too much detail.

“Other than extremely rare exceptions, you must be a US citizen to work for NASA as a civil service employee. If you are not a US citizen, you may wish to consider opportunities with one of our International Space Partners” says NASA’s website.

SpaceX and NASA working together
SpaceX and NASA have similar functions, and in fact, are working together closely on a number of projects. NASA is in fact one of SpaceX’s biggest clients. The two of them have several missions planned together, the most important of which is the Artemis mission to put human beings back into space after decades. The Artemis 3, for example, scheduled for a 2024 launch, will put humans (NASA’s astronauts to be specific) back on the Moon after decades.

Although we don’t know the specifics of the contracts signed between NASA and SpaceX, it wouldn’t be too farfetched to assume that there would be at least one clause that states that SpaceX has to take all measures and precautions so that vital and critical technology that is indigenous to the US does not leak out, especially to states that are not allies of the US.

Tesla’s Hiring policies
Anyone claiming that Elon Musk is a xenophobe and does not want to hire foreigners – whether they are refugees or asylees, needs to touch grass. Tesla employs foreign nationals by the hundreds, and that too in crucial positions.

There are several hundreds of Indians working on Tesla’s software, the most vital aspect of their EVs. Tesla’s CFO, Vaibhav Taneja, is just one example of a person of foreign origin, at a key position within the company.

Under ITAR, people of foreign nationalities, be it immigrants, residents, or asylee seekers, need to be cleared by a bunch of departments before they can be hired at companies like SpaceX. It is SpaceX who needs to do all the paperwork and get a special kind of work visa for such employees.

How the US handles refugees and asylees
And let’s not forget the sham of a process that the US has for refugees and asylees. How they are treated in the US, depends on who sits in the Oval Office.

And although the Department of Justice’s guidance states that refugees should be treated as US citizens, this is the same DOJ that not only sat silently as children of asylum seekers were separated from their parents by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, they in fact wanted psychological examinations of parents who sued authorities at being separated from their kids at the US-Mexico border.

In such a scenario, it is well within SpaceX’s rights not to get involved in the hassle if they don’t want to.

Musk had explained why he can’t hire immigrants, even if he wants to
Back in 2016, Musk was asked at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, why SpaceX only hires US nationals.

To this, he responded, saying, “I think people are very confused about this. Unfortunately, this is not up to us. If you’re working on rocket technology, that’s considered an advanced weapons technology. So even a normal work visa isn’t sufficient unless you get special permission from the Secretary of Defense.”

While responding, Musk also explained how it is hurting the space sector in the US. “I think this is not a wise policy for the US because there are so many talented people all around the world that we would love to have work at our company.”

He also went on to say that at least 25-30 per cent of the engineers and designers at Tesla, were from outside the country.

Because of who he is and more importantly, how abrasive he is towards authority, people, especially those on the Left often ignore when Musk is being targeted for the most inane and arbitrary reasons. And while Musk is not as benevolent as he would like the world to believe, and has his faults, he cannot be penalised for running a company as critical as SpaceX, in a manner that works best for it.

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