The Department of Justice (DOJ) has awarded $723,000 in grants to various groups nationwide to help combat immigration-related employment discrimination. These grants, administered by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC), will range from $48,000 to $87,000 for each of the 12 named recipients. According to a press release, these funds will be used to assist discrimination victims; conduct seminars for workers, employers and immigration service providers; distribute educational materials in various languages; and place advertisements in local communities through both mainstream and ethnic media to educate workers and employers about their rights.

In a statement, Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, said: “[a]warding grants to professional and community-based organizations better enables us to educate workers and employers about their rights and responsibilities under federal immigration law,” adding, “[o]ur grant recipients, who are well known and respected in their communities, will collaborate with us to prevent immigration-related discrimination in the workplace.”

The twelve groups slated to receive DOJ funding for the immigration-related anti-discrimination initiative are: the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Civil Rights Division; Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California; Catholic Charities of Dallas; Catholic Charities, Diocese of St. Petersburg, Fla.; Colorado Legal Services; Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA); National Farm Worker Service Center; National Immigration Law Center (NILC); New York City Human Rights Commission; Texas RioGrande Legal Aid; University of Iowa; and the Washington Farm Labor Association.

Earlier this month, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder revealed that with the increased 2010 fiscal year DOJ budget, the agency intended to substantially enlarge the Civil Rights Division and improve enforcement of antidiscrimination laws.