Thread: Judge lets health firm dump illegal immigrant given Obamacare navigator job

By PAUL BEDARD • 8/4/15 1:20 PM

President Obama's bid to grant special status to illegals in his program to defer deportation does not protect them from employment discrimination, a little known immigration court has ruled.

A judge with the Justice Department's Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer sided with an Arizona Obamacare provider after it withdrew a job offer in 2013 to an illegal immigrant who was unable to get a state driver's license because of his non-citizen status. At the time, Arizona would not issue licenses to illegal immigrants.

The case featured an illegal man granted "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)," dubbed amnesty by critics. DACA covers illegals who came to the country as children and gives them temporary and renewable status in the U.S. It also makes them eligible for employment.

After losing his Obamacare navigator job offered by Arizona Family Health Partnership because he couldn't get an Arizona driver's license, Brian Emilio Gonzalez-Hernandez sued claiming discrimination.

But in the June 30 decision, Ellen K. Thomas, administrative law judge, said that as a DACA recipient, Gonzalez-Hernandez wasn't a "protected individual" like illegals granted a green card or other types of residency status, and thus couldn't sue. She added, "An action for citizenship status discrimination may be maintained only by a protected individual…"

The case was reported on by the Center for Immigration Studies Monday. In a blog post, CIS fellow David North said that the court "ruled that a former illegal alien who has secured Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status may be discriminated against in the job market because of that status."

North added:

"If DACA people cannot use this provision of federal law (which I think was the right decision) it means that it is not against the law to discriminate against them in hiring.

"Perhaps the administration will try to overturn the quoted part of this ruling; it certainly runs counter to the general thrust of the White House's immigration policy."

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/ju...rticle/2569516

But in the June 30 decision, Ellen K. Thomas, administrative law judge, said that as a DACA recipient, Gonzalez-Hernandez wasn't a "protected individual" like illegals granted a green card or other types of residency status, and thus couldn't sue. She added, "An action for citizenship status discrimination may be maintained only by a protected individual…"

Wow! What a smart Judge! You go Ellen K. Thomas! And by the way, your ruling was absolutely 100% spot on. Sharpen up your resume, because you could be a good candidate for a higher appointment in the not too distant future.