MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund , the nation’s leading Latino civil rights legal organization, and PolicyLink, a national research and action institute, have released a public safety policy agenda in response to an alarming finding in a recent survey of urban Latinos. The research revealed that at least 40 percent of urban Latinos are less likely to provide information to police because they fear exposing themselves, family or friends to a risk of deportation.
MALDEF President and General Counsel, Thomas A. Saenz, joined representatives from other immigrant rights groups in a telebriefing for the press earlier this week to urge President Obama to immediately suspend deportations of those potentially eligible for legalization while Congress deliberates on immigration reform. More than 410,000 were deported last year, the most ever.
MALDEF filed for intervention yesterday in Crane v. Napolitano, a federal lawsuit in which ten Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are seeking to block the implementation of the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
MALDEF today joined forces with Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho to file suit against ABC Unified School District (ABC USD) for violating the California Voting Rights Act of 2001.
MALDEF is proud to collaborate with Honor 41, a national non-profit LGBTQ organization that recognizes outstanding Latina/o leaders in the LGBTQ community.
MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) is confident following today’s oral arguments at the United States Supreme Court in Arizona v. Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona (Arizona v. ITCA).
A twenty-year old, and highly successful, federal voter registration law known as "Motor Voter" is at issue in a legal battle that MALDEF has been leading and winning for nearly seven years. The challenge to Arizona's Proposition 200, enacted in 2004, has made its way to the United States Supreme Court.
MALDEF mourns the loss of Mexican American leader and pioneer Raymond L. Telles. Telles was the first Mexican American mayor of a major city and is credited with opening the path to high political offices for other Latinos nationwide by running the city of El Paso successfully during his two terms.
Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the provisions of SB 1070, Arizona’s anti-immigrant racial profiling law, that seek to criminalize the solicitation of day labor work, should remain blocked.
In many ways, Carmen M. Leija reflects the very corazón of MALDEF – quite appropriate given the fact that she joined the organization on Valentine’s Day in 1983.
National independent public transmedia company KCETLink, and MALDEF, the nation's leading Latino legal civil rights organization, have announced a partnership to curate and produce programming that spotlights key social justice issues and cultural narratives of the U.S. Latino experience to a national audience on KCET and Link TV.
Today, MALDEF, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) and NCLR (National Council of La Raza), joined a global boycott of Hyatt hotels in response to widespread evidence of harmful working conditions for hotel housekeepers, who are predominantly women of color, including Latinas.
Yesterday Judge David C. Bury ruled in favor of Latino plaintiffs in the longstanding desegregation lawsuit against the Tucson Unified School District (“TUSD”), filed by MALDEF in 1974 in federal district court in Tucson, Arizona.
After more than three months of testimony, Travis County District Court Judge John K. Dietz announced his ruling from the bench, holding that the Texas public school finance system is arbitrary, inequitable and inadequate under the Texas Constitution and that low-wealth school districts lack local control over their tax rates.
President and General Counsel, Thomas A. Saenz, Issues Statement in response to President Obama’s speech on immigration today:
MALDEF President and General Counsel, Thomas A. Saenz, issued the following statement today in response to today’s announcement of a bipartisan framework for immigration reform:
MALDEF filed a brief at the U.S. Supreme Court today in Arizona v. ITCA, the longstanding challenge to Proposition 200, Arizona’s 2004 law imposing burdensome documentation requirements on new voter registrants.
Nina Perales, MALDEF Vice President of Litigation, testified today before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing titled, "The State of the Right to Vote After the 2012 Election." Ms. Perales joined Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, former Governor of Florida Charlie Crist, Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz, and South Carolina State Representative Gilda Cobb-Hunter.
On Tuesday, MALDEF settled its lawsuit against Sheriff Lee Baca and the County of Los Angeles challenging the Sheriff’s attempt to withhold unredacted records regarding the 1970 killing of prominent journalist, Rubén Salazar. MALDEF represents Phillip Rodriguez, a noted documentary filmmaker, who requested the documents as part of his research for the documentary film that tells the story of the life and mysterious death of the prominent civil rights era journalist.
A coalition of civil rights organizations today filed a class-action lawsuit challenging Arizona’s unconstitutional policy denying driver’s licenses to a specific class of immigrant youth even though they have grown up in the United States and are authorized to live and work here.
A federal court today blocked key provisions of South Carolina's anti-immigrant law and recognized that harms could take place if police officers check people's immigration status, inviting additional challenges of civil rights abuses.
On November 9, 2012, MALDEF joined in filing a draft plan with the federal District Court in Fisher, et al., Mendoza, et al. v. Tucson Unified School District (TUSD), that is a blueprint for improving educational outcomes for Latino students and is intended to resolve a longstanding desegregation lawsuit against the District.
In key states, Latino voters are confronted with illegal voting barriers that threaten their ability to cast ballots on Election Day.
Over the last three weeks, MALDEF has released state-by-state endorsements on ballot measures to subscribers from each state. Below, we release nationally all of the positions MALDEF has taken for the upcoming November 6 election.
Este noviembre enfrentamos una elección crítica en la que los niveles altos de participación por todas partes pueden mandar un mensaje poderoso sobre la importancia de la comunidad Latina y su opinión política.
This November, we face a critical election, in which high levels of participation by Latino voters and their allies everywhere can send a powerful message about the importance of the Latino community and its policy views.
This November, we face a critical election, in which high levels of participation by Latino voters and their allies everywhere can send a powerful message about the importance of the Latino community and its policy views.
This November, we face a critical election, in which high levels of participation by Latino voters and their allies everywhere can send a powerful message about the importance of the Latino community and its policy views.
While the referendum developed long ago as a "progressive" reform, it is too often used by those who oppose progressive legal change to challenge positive measures adopted by the legislature.
While generally categorized as a progressive reform procedure, too often the referendum is used by those who oppose progressive legal change to challenge positive measures adopted by a legislature.
MALDEF Seeking Equal Funding for All Texas Students, Including Low Income and English Language Learner Children
While generally categorized as a progressive reform procedure, too often the referendum is used by those who oppose progressive legal change to challenge positive measures adopted by a legislature.
This November, we face a critical election, in which high levels of participation by Latino voters everywhere can send a powerful message about the importance of the Latino community and its policy views.
Today, MALDEF and the New Mexico law firm of Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Ives & Duncan (Freedman Boyd) secured a permanent injunction against New Mexico's "Foreign National Residency Certification Program."
On Saturday, September 29, 2012, the Parent Organization Network (PON) will host its first Bridging the Parent-School Gap 2012 – 2013, Learning Series event at East Los Angeles Community College.
In California, many of us remember the infamous anti-immigrant Proposition 187, enacted in 1994, that would have affected the lives of every resident by imposing draconian requirements on all public servants to deny services and report all "reasonably suspected" undocumented immigrants to immigration authorities.
The annual CSRC Latina/o Education Summit addresses topics not typically covered in academic discourse on the education of U.S. Latinos.
Maldef Commemorates the Powerful Legacy of Latino Patriotism
MALDEF is proud to support the release of "America, Our Home," a new collection of American patriotic songs recorded in Mexican musical styles by the group Ronstadt Generations to express the ongoing pride of the Latino community in the United States.
A federal district court today blocked a provision in Arizona's anti-immigrant law that aimed to criminalize friends and family members who engage in everyday activities with undocumented immigrants, but failed to block section 2B of SB 1070, which forces police officers to demand "papers" of those they believe are in the country unlawfully.
Today, a federal court in Washington DC issued a ruling in Texas v. Holder denying preclearance under the Voting Rights Act for Texas' proposed voter ID law.
Earlier today, a three-judge federal panel issued a ruling in Texas v. United States denying preclearance under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act for three Texas statewide redistricting plans.
The documentary "Inocente" is an extraordinary film, raising at once issues of arts education, homelessness, family violence, and immigration reform through its focus on a young woman with an amazingly compelling story.
Today, MALDEF won a court order instructing Arizona to stop requiring additional paperwork from citizens who submit a federal voter registration form to register to vote.
Today, MALDEF is saddened at the passing yesterday of pioneering Mexican American actress, Lupe Ontiveros. Originally from El Paso, Texas, Ontiveros starred in several iconic Latino roles throughout her decades-long career.
In the first case of its kind pending before the California Supreme Court, MALDEF, the Dream Bar Association, and a coalition of civil rights and legal groups have submitted an amicus brief in the matter of In re Sergio C. Garcia on Admission to support undocumented law school graduate Sergio C. Garcia’s application to join the California Bar.
Damaging Provision of SB 1070 Could Take Effect in a Few Days Without Court Action
Workers at California Capital Grille restaurants were deprived of wages and rest breaks according to a complaint filed today by MALDEF against Darden Restaurants, owner of Capital Grille, Red Lobster, and Olive Garden.
Representing a coalition of community partners, MALDEF intervened in a federal lawsuit between Texas and the United States over Texas's passage of a discriminatory voter identification law that would keep minorities and others from exercising their right to vote.
MALDEF is proud to support the release of "America, Our Home," a new collection of American patriotic songs recorded in Mexican musical styles by the group Ronstadt Generations to express the ongoing pride of the Latino community in the United States.
Today, the United States Supreme Court issued an order rejecting the State of Arizona's attempt to avoid a Ninth Circuit ruling that the state must accept the federal voter registration form in advance of the coming 2012 elections.
The coalition representing the plaintiffs in the ongoing civil rights legal challenge to SB 1070, Friendly House v. Whiting, sent a letter to counsel for all defendants, including Governor Brewer, explaining that SB1070 's racial profiling provision, Section 2 (B), cannot be implemented unless a federal court dissolves the injunction.
Many of the proponents of Arizona's notorious SB 1070, including Governor Jan Brewer, have attempted to spin today's 5-3 Supreme Court decision striking down three provisions and leaving a fourth with high obstacles in front of implementation, as a victory for the purveyors of such legislation.
Today the Supreme Court affirmed an injunction against three of the four core SB 1070 provisions (Sections 3, 5(C), and 6) before the Court, and narrowly limited the possible implementation of the notorious reasonable suspicion/racial profiling provision (Section 2(B)).
Today, MALDEF President and General Counsel, Thomas A. Saenz, released the following statement in response to President Obama’s decision to provide relief to undocumented youth who have lived in the United States for most of their lives.
Today, a Tucson federal court barred the State of Arizona from intervening in an ongoing school desegregation case involving discrimination against Latino students by the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD).
Seeks Unpaid Wages and Restitution for “Carwasheros” Forced to Work without Breaks and “Off the Clock”
Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel of MALDEF, issued the following statement in response to yesterday’s announcement by President Barack Obama of his personal support for marriage equality:
Today, MALDEF lauded a decision by Senior U.S District Judge, Frank Zapata, denying Arizona vigilante Roger Barnett’s latest attempt to avoid paying punitive damages to a group of immigrants he attacked in 2004.
Today, MALDEF filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Burger King Corporation for violating Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) by discriminating against a former district manager who was terminated after Burger King learned of his HIV status.
Today MALDEF filed a petition for writ of mandate to compel Sheriff Lee Baca to release public records relating to the death of Ruben Salazar.
Today, MALDEF welcomed the Ninth Circuit's en banc ruling in Gonzalez v. State of Arizona, striking down critical provisions of an Arizona law that restricted voter access.
Today, MALDEF filed suit against one of the largest Central Valley grape growers, Castlerock Farming and Transport, Inc., and many of its farm labor contractors, for systematically mistreating Latino workers.
Today, MALDEF filed a lawsuit against the famed Robertson Boulevard restaurant, The Ivy, for violating the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and discriminating against a former employee. The suit was filed in California Superior Court in Los Angeles County.
Today, MALDEF filed legal papers opposing an attempt by the State of Texas to secure federal approval for its new Voter ID law. The intervention was filed on behalf of two Latino voters and two organizations that conduct voter registration and turnout campaigns in the Latino community: Southwest Voter Registration Education Project and Mi Familia Vota Education Fund.
Today, MALDEF President and General Counsel, Thomas A. Saenz, issued the following statement in response to the passing of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund’s President and Director Counsel, John A. Payton
MALDEF announced yesterday that it has sent – on behalf of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) – the first wave of demand letters to a dozen municipalities across California threatening legal action if they fail to repeal laws limiting the right to solicit employment, business or contributions in public areas.
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled the City of Farmers Branch, located outside of Dallas, TX, violated the Constitution by passing a housing ordinance aimed at driving out Latinos.
Capping an extensive legal battle, a Texas federal court has issued redistricting plans for both congressional and state house districts for use in 2012 that better reflect the state’s increasingly large Latino electorate.
The States of Florida and Arizona have filed challenges to the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Section 5 of the VRA, described by the Supreme Court as "remed(ying) aimed at areas where voting discrimination has been most flagrant," helps protect the right to vote in places where, historically, this right has been most threatened.
The Chicago City Council approved a redistricting map on January 19, 2012 that did not meet the standards of MALDEF's proposed Equity Map, which called for 14 majority Latino wards, 18 African American wards, and keeping the communities of Chinatown and Back of the Yards together, while maintaining the legal population requirements based on 2010 Census numbers.
On Wednesday, March 14, 2011, MALDEF, the nation's leading legal civil rights organization, hosted the "2012 Latino State of the State: Discussion on Law, Policy, and Civil Rights in California." The event served as a convening of leaders and experts addressing issues and policies affecting California’s Latino community.
Yesterday, MALDEF, on behalf of the Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force, filed a brief at the request of the federal court in Washington, D.C. that is evaluating the Texas redistricting plans for compliance with the Voting Rights Act.
Today, a coalition of Texas business, faith based, and advocacy organizations known as Texas Residents United for a Stronger Texas (TRUST), launched a new website (www.CommonSenseImmigrationTx.org), in partnership with the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, to serve as a resource for advocates, community members, and policy makers seeking critical immigration information and resources.
Today, Latino leaders throughout Texas responded to new court-ordered interim maps for Texas state House and congressional seats that increase the number of districts in which Latino voters can elect their preferred candidates.
In response to the three-judge federal panel’s order adopting an interim redistricting plan for 2012 state House elections in Texas, Nina Perales, MALDEF Vice President of Litigation and lead counsel for the Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force in Perez v. Perry, provided the following statement...
Today, government officials gathered alongside civil right leaders at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes (LA Plaza) to unveil a permanent monument to acknowledge California’s role in the forced removal of 2 million Mexican Americans between 1929 and 1944.
Moments ago, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in Perez v. Perry that affirms the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act's preclearance provisions and instructs the district court on requirements for redrawing the Texas congressional, senate and house redistricting plans.
Today, MALDEF and the New Mexico law firm of Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Ives & Duncan (Freedman Boyd) filed suit in a Santa Fe District Court against the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division (MVD).
Today, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in Perez v. Perry regarding the Texas congressional, senate and house redistricting plans. The case challenges redistricting plans that discriminate against Latino voters.
Calling for 14 majority Latino wards, 18 African-American wards, and keeping the communities of Chinatown and Back of the Yards together while maintaining the legal population requirements based on the 2010 Census numbers, is the foundation of the proposed Equity map filed today by MALDEF with the city of Chicago.
MALDEF has joined a pending case against Illinois School District U-46. The federal court case is continuing on to the third phase of trial in Delgado v. Board of Education for Illinois School District U-46. Filed in 2005, this case represents an important fight in MALDEF’s battle to achieve fair and equitable treatment for Latino students in our educational systems.
Today, MALDEF filed suit on behalf of La Union Benefica Mexicana, a Latino community and civic organization in Northern Indiana, against the State of Indiana to strike down two previously-unchallenged provisions of the State's anti-immigrant law known as Senate Bill 590 (SB 590).
Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled against several residents of Irving, Texas who sought to compel the City of Irving to adopt voting maps for city council districts that ignored thousands of city residents.
Today, against the backdrop of the Dr. Jose A. Cardenas Early Childhood Center – located in the school district at the center of MALDEF’s first landmark school finance case, Edgewood v. Kirby, back in the 1980s – MALDEF announced the filing of a major education funding lawsuit against the State of Texas.
On Friday, a state district court in Denver, Colorado ruled in favor of plaintiffs in the State's first adequacy case, Lobato v. Colorado, a lawsuit in which MALDEF represented Colorado parents as plaintiff-intervenors seeking adequate funding for at-risk and English Language Learner ("ELL") students in the Colorado school finance system.
Today, MALDEF's tireless efforts in Texas federal courts have resulted in a court-proposed plan that promises increased Latino electoral opportunity throughout the state. A panel of federal judges in San Antonio has released a new redistricting plan that will improve representation for Texas Latinos, including the creation of an additional Latino opportunity district in South Texas.
Today, a federal three-judge panel in San Antonio, Texas released new redistricting plans for the Texas Housee of Representatives. The plan released by a majority of judges contains additional Latino opportunity districts.
Today, the federal district court in Washington, D.C. issued an order denying a request by Texas for expedited approval of the State's congressional, Texas House and Texas Senate redistricting plans.
MALDEF mourns the recent passing of Professor Harry Pachon, the longtime leader of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI). Dr. Pachon had a lengthy and groundbreaking career as a leader in the effort to advance the rights of Latinos and other minorities in the United States.
Nationally esteemed professional educator, unsurpassed bilingual education expert and indomitable civil rights advocate Dr. José Ángel Cárdenas has passed away.
Today, in a precedent-setting 9-2 decision in favor of day laborers, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's decision in Comité de Jornaleros de Redondo Beach v. City of Redondo Beach, striking down the City of Redondo Beach's anti-solicitation ordinance as a "facially unconstitutional restriction on speech."
MALDEF has secured a preliminary injunction against the New Mexico Secretary of Tax and Revenue's so-called "Residency Certification Program" on the grounds that the Secretary has likely violated the right to equal protection under the New Mexico Constitution.
This week, Judge Singleton of the First Judicial District in Santa Fe ordered the New Mexico Secretary of Tax and Revenue to put a stop to the so-called "Residency Certification Program."
Today, MALDEF and the New Mexico law firm of Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Ives & Duncan (Freedman Boyd) filed suit against the Secretary of the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, on behalf of a group of New Mexico legislators and residents of New Mexico, in order to stop the implementation and execution of Governor Martinez's so-called "Residency Certification Program."
Yesterday, in Washington DC, MALDEF filed a Motion to Intervene on behalf of the Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force in an effort to prevent the reduction of Latino voting strength in the ongoing Texas redistricting process.
Yesterday, at its 2011 annual meeting, the American Bar Association House of Delegates approved, by unanimous voice vote, a resolution, sponsored by the ABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities, to oppose any efforts to alter or amend the longstanding interpretation and application of the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Today, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced changes to the Secure Communities program, unilaterally abrogating all agreements with states, and indicating that the program will be imposed in all states, regardless of any state officials' desire to opt out of the program.
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