News India Times

www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know DOJ Civil Rights Chief Harmeet Dhillon’s Social Media Call For Cases Overwhelms Depleted Staff J before Labor Day weekend, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division put out a call on social media for job discrimination complaints. Harmeet K. Dhillon spe- cifically asked American citizens if they believed a foreign worker with a visa was wrongly hired over them. Over the next few days, about 80 complaints came in, overwhelming the four attorneys tasked with handling them and prompting the lone supervisor to quit in frustration, according to three people familiar with the situation. The number of attorneys doing such work in the division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section is down from about 25 at the start of the second Trump administration. The episode illustrates an exodus of employees at the Civil Rights Division as Dhillon has led a major priorities shift – focusing less on the historical mission of combating racial discrimination and more on fighting diversity initiatives, antisemi- tism and bias against American citizens. Dhillon said in May that about half of the Civil Rights Division’s roughly 380 attorneys had left during the new ad- ministration, most resigning or taking a voluntary buyout. Since then, dozens have followed, often citing the shift in priorities as a reason, according to multiple people familiar with the situation, who like others in this article spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution. “I came to the Civil Rights Division to do work that was actually helpful to people,” said one former Immigrant and Employee Rights Section employee who left in recent months. “But I wouldn’t be able to do that work – they weren’t even giving us the tools or respect to do that work.” Dhillon said in a statement that the Justice Department is working on hiring attorneys to fill the vacancies, and she has no problem with people leaving if they don’t agree with the agenda. “The Civil Rights Division is enforc- ing the law consistent with our statutory authority,” Dhillon said. “The more viola- tions of the law that occur, the more work there is for us to do. If Department staff are unwilling to perform their duty, they are free to leave. We are fortunate that many qualified attorneys are ready to take their place.” The division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section is a stark case study. It has historically focused on cases involving non-American citizens who are in the country legally but have alleged discrimi- nation in the workforce. Since taking over the Civil Rights Divi- sion, Dhillon has made one of her priori- ties tackling employment discrimination against American citizens. People inter- viewed said that type of discrimination ex- ists – most often in the form of employers hiring foreign-born workers because they may be willing to work for lower salaries – but that it typically represents a small number of the discrimination allegations that the section receives. Two people familiar with the section in the current administration say it has sig- nificantly slowed formal investigations of employment discrimination cases against non-Americans and pushed out top attor- neys in the section. The longtime section head was sent to a newly created work- ing group that did little and where all the staffers quit. The current acting head had given notice before the recent complaint crush and is set to leave in the next two weeks, the people said. Meanwhile, Trump administration of- ficials have amplified complaints focused on discrimination against American citizens. The H1-B visa program – which allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupations for which they cannot find qualified Ameri- cans to do the job – has been at the center of those complaints, with many conserva- tives arguing that these foreign workers are wrongfully take jobs that should go to Americans in fields such as tech and engineering. Other specialty visa programs are also being scrutinized as the administration claims these programs allow foreign work- ers to enter the country without proper vetting, posing a danger to Americans. Last month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that he would pause issuing work visas to some foreign truck drivers after a deadly Florida crash in which a truck driver from India made an illegal U-turn and killed three people. Florida officials said the driver had a commercial driver’s license but was in the country illegally and wasn’t proficient in English, fueling debate about whether the U.S. should be issuing such licenses to foreign drivers. It was in the midst of this debate that Dhillon posted her plea on X. “Are you an American citizen who has been harmed by inappropriate preferenc- es for foreign workers, eg H1-B or other? Follow the link,” she wrote, sharing a link to a Justice Department website where people could submit their complaints. She continued: “It’s also a place to report human trafficking of immigrant workers, and Title VII employment dis- crimination,” referencing the civil rights provision that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, religion and sex. Details on the more than 80 complaints that followed was not immediately known but that number was up from around 10 the section typically receives each week. That’s significant because the section is required under federal statutes to vet each complaint within 10 days. That includes assigning it to a staff attorney to conduct an initial review to determine legitimacy and, if warranted, to send a notice about the complaint to the employer. The at- torneys then decide whether to launch a formal investigation, which may result in hefty civil penalties against the employers. This year, the section is on track to col- lect a far smaller amount in civil penal- ties than it has in recent years, one of the people familiar with the section’s work said. The people added that they were frustrated that Dhillon put out a call for such complaints when the section’s dwin- dling staff wouldn’t be able to handle the volume. They noted that the Immigrant and Employee Rights section has opened some legitimate investigations that align with the administration’s priorities, but even those cases don’t have enough staff to aggressively pursue. Dhillon has used social media in a different way than her predecessors, often posting about cases, chiding the subjects of investigations and promoting the president and his administration. She has also said in interviews that she scours social media for instances of antisemitism to help determine what investigations to launch. “The department has extraordinary powers and it is critical that they use it with care and caution,” said Kristen Clarke, who headed the Civil Rights Divi- sion during the Biden administration. “Whether it’s a social media posting or complaint from any source, you need to make sure that everything is accurate and actually actionable.” -TheWashington Post By Perry Stein PHOTO: justice.gov PHOTO:Amiwala’sTwitter profile image Harmeet K. Dhillon. Bushra Amiwala won her race for the District 73.5 School Board in Cook County, Chicago. US Affairs News India Times (September 13, 2025 - September 19, 2025) September 19, 2025 9 Northside Democracy For America Endorses Bushra Amiwala For Congress From Illinois’ 9th District N orthside Democracy for America (NDFA), a progressive coalition in the Chicago area for the past 30 years, has endorsed Bushra Amiwala in the race for Congress in Illinois’ 9th district. Numerous Democrats have thrown their hats in the ring to vie for the party’s support in the primaries scheduled for March 17, 2026. “I’m honored to accept NDFA’s endorsement. For the past thirty years, this group has stood for the same progressive values I champion: uplifting people through access to education, hous- ing and healthcare,” Amiwala is quoted saying in a September 11, 2025, press release. Amiwala, who is an elected Skokie School District 73.5 Board Member, went on to say, “The endorsement process was competi- tive. Many of my opponents addressed the group as well, and voting members had no shortage of ideas and policy platforms to choose from. It’s gratifying to see their validation of my consis- tent track record in the community and their appreciation of my vision to increase federal education funding and champion universal healthcare. I look forward to working alongside NDFA to engage voters in Chicago and across IL-9.” Amiwala is seen as the frontrunner in a crowded field, with twenty candidates running to represent Illinois’ 9th district as of mid-September, the campaign noted in the press release. By a StaffWriter