LOS ANGELES – Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) issued the following statement in response to Donald Trump’s ill-informed statement suggesting the...
Read MoreReport released by Advancing Justice | AAJC, MALDEF, and NALEO Educational Fund presents new legal approach to issues arising from 2013 Supreme Court decision. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Civil rights organizations issued a new report...
Read MoreWASHINGTON, D.C. – Representatives of leading civil rights organizations testified in two U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hearings yesterday about the need to expand and strengthen the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA)...
Read MoreLOS ANGELES – Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), issued the following statement today marking one year until the constitutionally mandated decennial...
Read MoreCHICAGO – Voters across Chicago face critical decisions on April 2, 2019. There are numerous races that will be decided by Tuesday’s municipal elections, including mayoral, treasurer, and 15 aldermanic seats – eight of...
Read MoreLOS ANGELES – A districting plan under consideration by an elementary school district in northern San Diego County must be rejected because it does not ensure Latinos a sufficient opportunity to elect candidates of their choice...
Read MoreLOS ANGELES – Leo Estrada, associate professor emeritus of urban planning at UCLA and a fierce advocate for voting rights, civil rights, and political representation for Latinos, died on Nov. 3 after a lengthy illness....
Read MoreThrough our work on the U.S. Census Bureau’s National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations, the California Complete Count Committee, the Illinois Complete Count Committee, and other entities, we’re pushing back on the Trump administration’s efforts to thwart a full and accurate 2020 Census count.
Read MoreLos Angeles, CA – Please attribute the following statement on the Trump executive order disbanding a commission formed to investigate non-existent voter fraud to Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF...
Read MoreMALDEF was a driving force behind the 1975 federal Voting Rights Act renewal that extended protections to Latinos and the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA), which made it easi-er for protected groups to prove that their votes are being diluted. We engage with community groups to keep them up to date on their voting rights.
Read MoreMost recent effort seeks to correct Texas misinformation on voter cards LOS ANGELES, CA – In key states, Latino voters are confronted with illegal voting barriers that threaten their ability to cast ballots on Election...
Read MoreTrial Begins This Week as MALDEF Attorneys Invoke Voter Rights Act WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representing a coalition of community partners, MALDEF intervened in a federal lawsuit between Texas and the United States over Texas’s...
Read MoreDenial Leaves in Place Ninth Circuit Ruling Rejecting Arizona’s Attempt to Suppress Voter Registration WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the United States Supreme Court issued an order rejecting the State of Arizona’s...
Read MoreTexas law would disproportionately harm Latinos if approved San Antonio, TX – 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...
Read MoreThe 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)...
Read MoreLatino voters will have a greater voice in 2012 elections SAN ANTONIO, TX – Today, Latino leaders throughout Texas responded to new court-ordered interim maps for Texas state House and congressional seats that increase the...
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Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund