The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) Anti-Discrimination Public Education Campaign

The U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) funds grants to conduct public education programs about the rights afforded potential victims of employment discrimination and the responsibilities of employers under the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. §1324b. Programs funded by the OSC grant program are required to design and implement public education campaigns to address immigration related unfair employment discrimination by educating workers, employers, and the general public about the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.

The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) will use the grant funds to collaborate with the National Network for Arab American Communities and the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice to deliver a targeted public education campaign regarding the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act and immigration-related unfair employment practices. The campaign will educate workers and employers regarding the rights of all immigrant workers and will focus on reaching an underserved population - immigrants from Arabic-speaking countries. ACCESS's program addressing immigration-related unfair employment practices will serve immigrants in the four largest Arab immigrant communities in the U.S.: Southeastern Michigan, Chicagoland, New York City, and the Los Angeles/Anaheim area. These communities combined include over one million Arab-Americans, approximately one-third of the country's total population. The campaign will consist of three major components: direct mass messaging to Arab immigrants through Arabic-and English-language PSA broadcasts, print ads on local buses and in community newspapers, and distribution of OSC-approved pamphlets at major community events and through community service providers; direct education and counseling of immigrant workers about employment rights, delivered in specialized workshops but also integrated in a broad range of existing social services. To ensure quality, ACCESS and Sugar Law will train staff of participating agencies; and outreach to employers in Southeastern Michigan, which has the nations largest Arab immigrant community, through education integrated into ACCESS's existing employer services.

CA/NCF