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10.18.07
Internship Program Discriminates Against Ohioans
State-Sponsored Third Frontier Program Bars Non-Citizens, Hurts Ohio Businesses
CLEVELAND- Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio sent a
letter to the Third Frontier Internship Program urging officials to
cease discriminating against Ohioans based on their national origin. The
program, which pairs Ohio students with high-tech businesses for
internships and subsidizes part of the student’s wages, requires that
all participants be U.S. citizens.
“The Third Frontier Internship Program seems like a wonderful
opportunity for many young people,” said ACLU of Ohio Legal Director
Jeffrey Gamso. “It is troubling that some young people are denied the
chance to enrich themselves simply because they are not U.S. citizens,
even if they have lived and studied here for years.”
“Discriminating against Ohioans who are non-citizens also hurts
businesses because it limits the pool from which they can draw
tech-savvy young people who bring innovation and creativity to the
state,” added Gamso.
In his letter, Gamso reminded officials that states may not discriminate
based on national origin. Additionally, Gamso pointed out that the Third
Frontier program is partially funded through the federal Workforce
Investment Act of 1998, which specifically stipulates that programs
benefiting from it must be open to lawfully residing non-citizens.
The Third Frontier Internship Program has been instituted since 2002,
and links college age students with high-tech businesses. The program
subsidizes part of the intern’s wages at the company, and after the
student graduates, the business is given the opportunity to hire the
student full time. This allows companies access to talented young people
and encourages students to stay in Ohio.
“This program could be very beneficial for Ohioans, but discriminating
against qualified people is not only unconstitutional, it is bad
business. Companies need to have access to a wide array of individuals
in order to increase innovation, and immigrants have traditionally been
a group that has added to our nation’s ability to compete in the market
place,” concluded Gamso.
The nonprofit, nonpartisan ACLU of Ohio’s office is located in Cleveland
with community and campus chapters located throughout the state. There
are almost 30,000 ACLU members and supporters in Ohio and more than
500,000 nationwide.
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Read the ACLU of Ohio's letter to the Third Frontier
Internship Program
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