The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has formally requested a federal court in Texas to lift a temporary injunction on its lawsuit against SpaceX.
The lawsuit accuses the Elon Musk-led aerospace company SpaceX of discriminating against immigrant job applicants.
The DOJ’s motion, filed Thursday, February 20, 2025, seeks to end the year-long pause on the case and dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice—a legal move that would permanently bar the DOJ from refiling the same case against SpaceX in the future.
If approved, this decision would effectively end the federal government’s legal battle with Musk’s space company over its hiring policies.
Background: DOJ’s Discrimination Claims Against SpaceX
The DOJ first sued SpaceX in August 2023, alleging the company had engaged in unlawful hiring practices by discouraging asylees and refugees from applying for positions, discriminating against immigrant applicants, and falsely claiming that U.S. export laws prohibited hiring non-citizens or non-permanent residents.
According to the DOJ’s original complaint, SpaceX wrongly asserted that U.S. export regulations barred the company from employing non-citizens, when in fact, asylees and refugees qualify for legal permanent resident status under 8 U.S.C. § 1158(c)(1). The DOJ alleged these hiring practices violated 8 U.S.C. § 1324b of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
Elon Musk responded to the lawsuit at the time with a public statement on X (formerly Twitter), defending SpaceX’s hiring policies:
“SpaceX was told repeatedly that hiring anyone who was not a permanent resident of the United States would violate international arms trafficking law, which would be a criminal offense. We couldn’t even hire Canadian citizens, despite Canada being part of NORAD! This is yet another case of weaponization of the DOJ for political purposes.”
Legal Battle and Court Injunction
Following the DOJ’s 2023 lawsuit, SpaceX responded in November 2023 by filing a preliminary injunction—a legal request to pause the lawsuit until the court could fully review the evidence.
The court granted SpaceX’s request, ruling that the company would suffer “irreparable harm” if the case moved forward, while the DOJ would not face the same level of harm if the lawsuit was temporarily paused.
Now, after more than a year, the DOJ is seeking to lift that injunction—not to resume the case, but to dismiss it entirely.
Why Is the DOJ Dropping the Case?
The DOJ has not provided a public explanation for its decision to abandon the lawsuit. The move raises speculation about whether:
- The legal basis for the DOJ’s claims may have weakened
- SpaceX’s defense—that it was following U.S. export laws—may have gained traction
- Political or strategic considerations influenced the DOJ’s decision to avoid prolonged litigation with Musk
Legal analysts suggest that dropping the lawsuit with prejudice is a significant win for SpaceX, as it prevents the DOJ from revisiting these same claims in the future. However, it remains unclear whether other federal agencies might scrutinize SpaceX’s hiring practices under different laws.
