Federal Protections 

Against National Origin 

Discrimination

Issued October 2000
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Introduction

Federal laws prohibit discrimination based on a 

person’s national origin, race, color, religion, disability, 

sex, and familial status. Laws prohibiting national 

origin discrimination make it illegal to discriminate 

because of a person’s birthplace, ancestry, culture or 

language. This means people cannot be denied equal 

opportunity because they or their family are from 

another country, because they have a name or accent 

associated with a national origin group, because 

they participate in certain customs associated with a 

national origin group, or because they are married to or 

associate with people of a certain national origin. 

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division is 

concerned that national origin discrimination may go 

unreported in the United States because victims of 

discrimination do not know their legal rights, or may 

be afraid to complain to the government. To address 

this problem, the Civil Rights Division has established 

a National Origin Working Group to help citizens and 

immigrants better understand and exercise their legal 

rights. If you think you, or someone you know, has 

been discriminated against because of national origin 

and want to learn more about exercising your legal 

rights, you should read this brochure.

This brochure explains the laws prohibiting national 

origin discrimination and provides some examples. You 

may find additional information about the Civil Rights 

Division and its Sections on the internet at http://www.

usdoj.gov/crt. You may contact the Division to report 

complaints of discrimination as explained below.

Knowing Your Legal Rights

The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice 

enforces Federal laws that prohibit discrimination in:

Education 

Employment 

Housing 

Lending 

Public Accommodations 

Law Enforcement / Police Misconduct 

Voting
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The Division also enforces laws that prohibit 

discrimination on the basis of disability, protects the 

civil rights of persons who are institutionalized in 

certain state or local facilities, and prosecutes crimes 

that are motivated by a crime victim’s race, color, or 

national origin.

In some cases, the Division may only become involved 

if there is a “pattern or practice” of discrimination. A 

“pattern or practice” generally means that there is more 

than a single incident of discrimination, and that there 

is a policy or repeated conduct that is discriminatory.

Criminal Violations Of 

Civil Rights

• A young man of South Asian descent is assaulted 

as he leaves a concert at a nightclub. The assailant, 

a member of a skinhead group, yells racial epithets 

as he beats the victim unconscious in the club’s 

parking lot with fists and a pipe.

• At Ku Klux Klan meetings, a Klansman tells other 

members that Mexicans and Puerto Ricans should 

go “back where they came from.” They burn a 

cross in the front yard of a young Hispanic couple 

in order to frighten them and force them to leave 

the neighborhood. Before burning the cross, the 

defendant displays a gun and gives one of his friends 

another gun in case the victims try to stop them.

• An American company recruits workers in a small 

Mexican town, promising them good work at high 

pay. The company smuggles the Mexicans to the 

United States in an empty tanker truck. When 

they finally arrive in the U.S., the workers are 

threatened, told that if they attempt to leave their 

factory they will be killed. 

The Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division 

prosecutes people who are accused of using force or 

violence to interfere with a person’s federally protected 

rights because of that person’s national origin. These 

rights include areas such as housing, employment, 

education, or use of public facilities. You can reach the 

Criminal Section at (202) 514-3204 or write to: 
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U.S. Department of Justice 

Civil Rights Division 

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Criminal Section, PHB 

Washington, D.C. 20530 

Disability Rights

• An HMO that enrolls Medicaid patients tells a 

Mexican American woman with cerebral palsy to 

come back another day for an appointment while it 

provides immediate assistance to others.

This example may be a violation of Federal laws that 

prohibit discrimination because of disability as well as 

laws that prohibit discrimination because of national 

origin. If you believe you have been discriminated 

against because you have a disability you may contact 

the Disability Rights Section at (800) 514-0301 (voice) 

or 800-514-0383 (TTY). You may also write to:

U.S. Department of Justice 

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Civil Rights Division 

Disability Rights Section - NYAV 

Washington, D.C. 20530 

Education

• A child has difficulty speaking English, but her 

school does not provide her with the necessary 

assistance to help her learn English and other 

subjects.

• A majority Haitian school does not offer honors 

classes. Other schools in the district that do not 

have many Haitian students offer both honors and 

advanced placement courses. 

These examples may be violations of Federal law, 

which prohibits discrimination in education because of 

a person’s national origin. The Division’s Educational 

Opportunities Section enforces these laws in elementary 

and secondary schools as well as public colleges and 

universities. The Education Section’s work addresses 

discrimination in all aspects of education, including 

assignment of students to schools and classes, 
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transportation of students, hiring and placement of 

faculty and administrators, distribution of school 

resources, and provision of educational programs that 

assist limited English speaking students in learning 

English.

To file a complaint or for more information, contact the 

Education Section at (202) 514-4092, or write to: 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Civil Rights Division 

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Educational Opportunities Section, PHB 

Washington, D.C. 20530 

Employment

• A transit worker’s supervisor makes frequent racial 

epithets against the worker because his family is 

from Iran. Last week, the boss put up a fake sign 

on the bulletin board telling everyone not to trust 

the worker because he is a terrorist.

• A woman who immigrated from Russia applies 

for a job as an accountant. The employer turns 

her down because she speaks with an accent even 

though she is able to perform the job requirements.

• A food processing company requires applicants who 

appear or sound foreign to show work authorization 

documents before allowing them to complete an 

employment application while native born Caucasian 

applicants are not required to show any documents 

before completing employment applications. 

Moreover, the documents of the ethnic employees are 

more closely scrutinized and more often rejected than 

the same types of documents shown by native born 

Caucasian employees.

These examples may be violations of the law that 

prohibits discrimination against an employee or job 

applicant because of his or her national origin. This 

means an employer cannot discipline, harass, fire, 

refuse to hire or promote a person because of his or her 

national origin.

If you believe an employer, labor organization or 
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employment agency has discriminated against you 

because of your national origin, contact: 

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 

(800) 669-4000 

(Employers with 15 or more employees)

Office of Special Counsel

(800) 255-7688 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Civil Rights Division 

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related 

Unfair Employment Practices, 1425 

Washington, D.C. 20530 

(Employers with 4 to 14 employees)

Employment Litigation Section 

(202) 514-3831 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Civil Rights Division 

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Employment Litigation Section, PHB 

Washington, D.C. 20530 

(State or local government employer with a pattern or 

practice of illegal discrimination)

In addition, an employer may violate Federal law by 

requiring specific work authorization documents, such 

as a green card, or rejecting such documents only 

from applicants of certain national origins. For more 

information or to file a charge, contact the Division’s 

Office of Special Counsel at the above address or tollfree number.

Housing

• A Native Hawaiian family is looking for an 

apartment. They are told by the rental agent that no 

apartments are available, even though apartments 

are available and are shown to white applicants. 

• A realtor shows a Latino family houses only in 

Latino neighborhoods and refuses to show the 

family houses in white neighborhoods. 
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These examples may be violations of the Federal 

Fair Housing Act. That law prohibits discrimination 

because of national origin, race, color, sex, religion, 

disability, or familial status (presence of children 

under 18) in housing. Individual complaints of 

discrimination may be reported to the Department 

of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at (800) 

669-9777. If you believe there is a pattern or practice 

of discrimination, contact the Division’s Housing and 

Civil Enforcement Section at (202) 514-4713.

Lending

• A Latina woman is charged a higher interest rate 

and fees than white male customers who have 

similar financial histories and apply for the same 

type of loan. 

This example may be a violation of Federal laws that 

prohibit discrimination in lending because of national 

origin, race, color, sex, religion, disability and marital 

status or because any of a person’s income comes from 

public assistance. If you believe you have been denied a 

loan because of your national origin or other protected 

reason, you may ask the lender for an explanation in 

writing of why your application was denied. 

If the loan is for a home mortgage, home improvement, 

or other housing-related reasons, you may file a 

complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban 

Development at (800) 669-9777. If the loan is for 

purposes other than housing (such as a car loan), you 

may file a complaint either with the Division’s Housing 

and Civil Enforcement Section or with the lender’s 

regulatory agency. If your experience was part of a 

pattern or practice of discrimination you may also call 

the Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at (202) 

514-4713, to obtain more information about your rights 

or to file a complaint. 

Public Accommodations 

• In a restaurant, a group of Asian Americans waits 

for over an hour to be served, while white and 

Latino customers receive prompt service. 
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• Haitian American visitors to a hotel are told they 

must pay in cash rather than by credit card, are 

charged higher rates than other customers, and 

are not provided with the same amenities, such as 

towels and soap. 

These examples may be violations of Federal laws that 

prohibit discrimination because of national origin, race, 

color, or religion in places of public accommodation. 

Public accommodations include hotels, restaurants, 

and places of entertainment. If you believe you have 

been denied access to or equal enjoyment of a public 

accommodation where there is a pattern or practice of 

discrimination, contact the Housing and Civil Enforcement 

Section at (202) 514-4713. You may also write to: 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Civil Rights Division 

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Housing and Civil Enforcement Section, NWB 

Washington, D.C. 20530 

Police Misconduct

• Police officers constantly pull over cars driven by 

Latinos, for certain traffic violations, but rarely 

pull over white drivers for the same violations.

• A police officer questioning a man of Vietnamese 

origin on the street gets angry when the man is 

unable to answer his questions because he does 

not speak English. The Officer arrests the man for 

disorderly conduct.

These examples may be violations of the Equal 

Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. 

They may also be violations of the Omnibus Crime 

Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. That law 

prohibits discrimination because of national origin, 

race, color, religion, or sex by a police department 

that gets Federal funds through the U.S. Department 

of Justice. They may also violate Title VI of the Civil 

Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination 

by law enforcement agencies that receive any Federal 

financial assistance, including asset forfeiture property. 

Complaints of individual discrimination can be filed 
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with the Coordination and Review Section at 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Civil Rights Division 

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Coordination and Review Section, 1425 

Washington, D.C. 20530 

or contact the Coordination and Review Section at 

1-888-848-5306. 

Complaints of individual discrimination may also be 

filed with the Office of Justice Programs at Office 

for Civil Rights, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. 

Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20531, or 

contact Office of Justice Programs at (202) 307-0690. 

The Special Litigation Section investigates and 

litigates complaints that a police department has a 

pattern or practice of discriminating on the basis of 

national origin. To file a complaint, contact the Special 

Litigation Section at (202) 514-6255 or write to: 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Civil Rights Division 

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Special Litigation Section 

Washington, D.C. 20530

Civil Rights Of 

Institutionalized Persons

• A jail will not translate disciplinary hearings for 

detainees who do not speak English.

• A state’s psychiatric hospital has no means of 

providing treatment for people who do not speak 

English.

These examples may be violations of the Equal 

Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. 

The Special Litigation Section enforces the 

constitutional rights of people held in state or local 

government institutions, such as prisons, jails, 

juvenile correctional facilities, mental health facilities, 

developmental disability or mental retardation 

facilities, and nursing homes. If you are a resident of 
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any such facility and you believe there is a pattern or 

practice of discrimination based on your national origin, 

contact the Special Litigation Section at (202) 514-6255. 

You may also write to:

U.S. Department of Justice 

Civil Rights Division 

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Special Litigation Section 

Washington, D.C. 20530

Federally Assisted Programs

• A local social services agency does not provide 

information or job training in Korean even though 

one quarter of local residents speak only Korean.

• A hospital near the Texas/Mexico border dresses 

its security officers in clothes that look like INS 

uniforms to scare Latinos away from the emergency 

room. Latino patients are told to bring their own 

translators before they can see a doctor. 

These examples may be violations of Federal laws that 

prohibit discrimination because of national origin, race 

or color by recipients of Federal funds. If you believe 

you have been discriminated against by a state or local 

government agency or an organization that receives 

funds from the Federal government, you may file a 

complaint with the Division’s Coordination and Review 

Section at (888) 848-5306. You may also write to: 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Civil Rights Division 

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Coordination and Review Section, 1425 

Washington, D.C. 20530 

The Coordination and Review Section will refer 

the complaint to the Federal funding agency that is 

primarily responsible for enforcing nondiscrimination 

prohibitions applicable to its recipients.
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Voting

• Despite requests from voters in a large Spanishspeaking community, election officials refuse to 

provide election materials, including registration forms 

and sample ballots, in Spanish or to allow Spanish 

speakers to bring translators into the voting booth.

• A polling official requires a dark-skinned voter, who 

speaks with a foreign accent and has an unfamiliar last 

name, to provide proof of American citizenship, but 

does not require proof of citizenship from white voters.

The election officials’ conduct may violate the Federal laws 

prohibiting voting discrimination. The Voting Rights Acts 

do not specifically prohibit national origin discrimination. 

However, provisions of the Acts make it illegal to limit 

or deny the right to vote of any citizen not only because 

of race or color, but also because of membership in a 

language minority group. In addition, the Acts also require 

in certain jurisdictions that election materials and assistance 

be provided in languages other than English. 

Additionally, Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act, allows 

voters, who need help because of blindness, disability 

or because they cannot read or write, to bring someone 

(other than an employer or union representative) to help. 

This means that a voter who needs help reading the 

ballot in English can bring a friend or family member to 

translate. In some places, election officials must provide 

information, such as voter registration and the ballot, in 

certain language(s) other than English. This can include 

interpreters to help voters vote.

If you believe that you have been discriminated against 

in voting or denied assistance in casting your ballot, you 

may contact the Division’s Voting Section at (800) 253-

3931. You may also write to: 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Civil Rights Division 

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Voting Section, 1800G 

Washington, D.C. 20530 

Note: For persons with disabilities, this document will 

be available in large print, audio tape, computer disc, 

and braille.
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NUREG/BR-0459

September 2009