Protecting the rights of immigrants is the focus of MALDEF's Immigrant's Rights Program. One of MALDEF's greatest successes was the final settlement reached in the case Gregorio T. v. Wilson. Under the settlement, Governor Gray Davis and the state of California officially agreed to dismiss their appeal of the district court's decision, striking down virtually every section of California's Proposition 187, which, when implemented, would have denied education, health care and social services to the state's undocumented immigrants. MALDEF is pleased in this victory of basic human and civil rights. We also understand that if one hopes to preserve America's promise as the land of opportunity and equality, it is important to ensure that harmful and negative legislative initiatives as this one are not repeated elsewhere.
To assist immigrants navigate their new lives in the United States, MALDEF produced the "Know Your Rights/Conozca sus derechos" Marcos y María ® radio education program in California. Designed as a series of brief vignettes in Spanish, each radio spot features the adventures of the characters, Marcos y María ®, discussing real life problems encountered by immigrants. The first ten radio spots included instructions for Latino immigrants on how to file income taxes, an outline of workplace laws and an explanation of the rights of tenants. Plans for a second round of radio spots, which would work to further enhance the awareness of immigrants, are currently underway.
The protection of immigrants language rights and fair housing were the issues in Veles v. Lindow, whereby MALDEF submitted an amicus brief to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The case challenged a private landlord's policy of refusing to rent to monolingual Spanish-speaking tenants. MALDEF's brief argues that such policies have an adverse effect on Latinos and stand in violation of federal housing laws. Although the court has not returned a decision, MALDEF continues to respond to these and other unfair housing practices which disproportionately affect Latino immigrants.
In MALDEF's case, Guevara v. City of Norcross, Georgia, we challenged a city ordinance restricting the use of a language other than English for any displayed sign serving a non-residential purpose. MALDEF's client, Mr. Guevera, is a minister who was cited by Georgia police for posting signs in Spanish announcing religious services to the local community. MALDEF succeeded in the dismissal of criminal charges against the minister because the ordinance was invalid as it was in direct violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
MALDEF continues to monitor federal and state proposed legislation, attend hearings, submit comments on matters that impact the fair and equitable treatment of immigrants. Work included the defeat of Texas legislation that would have expanded the U.S. Border Patrol's authority, in effect allowing them to disregard the Constitution's basic protection against unreasonable search and seizure when making arrests. MALDEF contended that the proposed legislation would have also increased Fourth Amendment violations by allowing Border Patrol stops based on racial profiling. MALDEF also advocated on behalf of immigrants detained in INS hub facilities. MALDEF challenged the placement of individuals in detention facilities far from their residence and based on their country of origin. This practice creates unreasonable hardship on detainees and their families, and also hinders the detainees' right to fair access to counsel. Because of the issues raised by MALDEF, the INS has since set aside the country of origin based detention facility plan while it considers other options.
MALDEF's work on the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) resulted in the Immigration and Naturalization Service's (INS) issuance of regulations that afford immigrants a presumption of hardship (rather than the requisite proof of hardship), more closely aligned with those previously conferred only to Cubans. The introduction of legislation to resurrect the Bracero Program was the focus of the second National Latino Summit on Guest Worker Legislation, co-sponsored by MALDEF in Washington, D.C. in May 2001. This three-day forum brought together labor leaders, farm workers and others to educate elected officials on the consequences of guest worker legislation.
MALDEF's case, Rodríguez v. Malloy, challenging the INS' unwarranted invasion of a family's home, served as an important reminder of our need to protect the often vulnerable rights of immigrants. MALDEF filed suit against the individual federal officers and filed an administrative claim seeking compensation for destroyed property and physical abuse. As the immigrant community expands to new regions of the country, MALDEF's Immigrants Rights Program endeavors to mitigate unjust treatment and abuses for the immigrants in their new communities. As the Latino population shifts and new issues arise, an understanding and protection of the immigrant's basic rights is necessary to ensure the vitality and growth of the Latino community.
