FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1996                      (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                ANTIDISCRIMINATION GRANTS AWARDED

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Justice announced
today that it will award $1.2 million in grants to 15 non-profit
organizations to educate workers and employers about immigration-
related discrimination in hiring.  The grants will go to
organizations based in California, Texas, Illinois, Florida, and
Massachusetts.

     The grants, made by the Office of Special Counsel for
Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC), will help
educate workers and employers about how to eliminate
discrimination against individuals, citizens and non-citizens
alike, who are authorized to work in this country.

     The success of OSC's mission depends not only on ensuring
compliance with the Immigration and Nationality Act's (INA)
antidiscrimination provisions, but also on effective national and
grass-roots public outreach efforts.

     "This grant program taps into the expertise of community-
based and professional organizations which are ideally suited to
educate the public about their rights and responsibilities under
the law," said Deval L. Patrick, Assistant Attorney General for
Civil Rights.

     The grants, which range from $50,000 to $150,000, will
promote antidiscrimination education and awareness throughout the
country and in local communities. 

     Grant recipients are: 

   * Asian Pacific American Legal Center
     Los Angeles, California
          
   * Catholic Charities, Diocese of Beaumont
     Beaumont, Texas
          
   * Catholic Charities of Dallas, 
     Dallas, Texas
     
   * Catholic Charities, Diocese of Galveston-Houston
     Houston, Texas
 
   * Catholic Charities of San Diego
     San Diego, California

   * Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. 
     Washington, D.C. 
     
   * Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles 
     Los Angeles, California

   * Erie Neighborhood House
     Chicago, Illinois

   * Florida Immigrant Advocacy Coalition
     Miami, Florida

   * Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce
     Miami, Florida

   * Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Coalition (MIRA)
     Boston, Massachusetts

   * National Immigration Law Center 
     Los Angeles, California

   * Northwest Immigrants Rights Project
     Seattle, Washington

   * La Raza, Centro Legal
     San Francisco, California

   * Texas Civil Rights Project
     Austin, Texas               
     
     For more information about INA's antidiscrimination
provision, write to:

               Office of Special Counsel for Immigration
                    Related Unfair Employment Practices
               Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice
               P.O. Box 27728
               Washington, D.C.  20038-7728
     

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