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AG Sessions rescinds 24 guidance documents, including guidance discouraging employers from discriminating against asylees and refugees

  1. Original Date Announced

    July 3, 2018

    AG Sessions rescinds 24 guidance documents, including some that discussed rights and protections for various immigrants and refugees. Sessions deemed these guidance documents to be in violation of administrative rulemaking. Among the documents rescinded: "Federal Protections Against National Origin Discrimination" (2006), "Refugees and Asylees Have the Right to Work" (2011), and "BJA State Criminal Alien Assistance Program Guidelines" (2016).

    Notably, the 2011 guidance issued by Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Special Counsel affirmed that refugees and asylees are “authorized to work indefinitely” and can receive Social Security cards “without employment restrictions.” The rescinded guidance also stated that employers cannot require employees to show Department of Homeland Security-issued documents, if they have a Social Security card and a state-issued driver’s license or ID card. Under the guidance, employers were also blocked from refusing to hire refugees or asylees for not having a Social Security number.

    [ID #173]

    DOJ Press Release: Attorney General Jeff Sessions Rescinds 24 Guidance Documents
  2. Effective Date

    July 3, 2018

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