Employment — national-origin discrimination

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Civil

Employment — national-origin discrimination

Title VII does not apply to discrimination based on unauthorized presence in the United States.

“Even assuming that Title VII applies to discrimination against one’s spouse, Kristi’s claim falls short because it is based on Javier’s alienage, which is not protected by the statute. Even reading the record in the light most favorable to Kristi, it is beyond dispute that Salin Bank’s actions were motivated by the fact that Javier’s presence in the United States was unauthorized. Novotny first called Hubbs because she learned that Kristi’s husband was an undocumented alien. Hubbs’s report repeatedly noted that Javier was ‘smuggled into the US illegally,’ had ‘resid[ed] in the US illegally,’ was an ‘illegal alien’ and an ‘illegal immigrant.’ The report barely notes Javier’s Mexican heritage, making only passing references to Javier and Kristi’s trips to Mexico. Even Hubbs’s tirade in his first meeting with Kristi, disagreeable as it was, emphasized Javier’s unauthorized status, not his Mexican ancestry. And the coup de grâce is the fact that after Kristi was fired, Hubbs reported his findings to federal immigration authorities.”

Affirmed.

11-1631 Cortezano v. Salin Bank & Trust Co.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Barker, J., Wood, J.