MALDEF, RAINBOW PUSH COALITION, CA SECRETARY OF STATE RESPOND TO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S DISCRIMINATORY POLICIES

Los Angeles, CA – Civil rights groups and the California Secretary of State vowed Friday to work together to combat the Trump Administration’s efforts to suppress minority voting while also urging the White House to keep in place Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a 2012 initiative that protects some young immigrants from deportation.

MALDEF STATEMENT ON TRUMP’S POTENTIAL PARDON OF SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO

Los Angeles, CA – Please attribute the following statement on Donald J. Trump’s visit to Arizona, and reports that he is considering a presidential pardon of disgraced former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio to Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund): “If Donald Trump were to pardon the infamous Joe Arpaio today, it would be the most naked pander to a shrinking and dubious political ‘base’ since… well, last Tuesday. Any presidential pardon is completely premature for the following reasons:

MALDEF STATEMENT ON COURT RULING AGAINST STATE OF TEXAS IN SB 4 LAWSUIT

LOS ANGELES – Please attribute the following statement on a federal court’s dismissal of a Texas lawsuit seeking preemptive approval of the anti-immigrant law Texas SB 4 to Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF: “In a well-reasoned written decision, United States District Judge Sam Sparks yesterday rebuked Texas state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s premature Austin-based litigation to defend the constitutionally-flawed SB 4. Recognizing that the state was seeking an improper advisory opinion when it filed the preemptive lawsuit challenging some of the major opponents of the proposed SB 4, including MALDEF, yesterday’s decision leaves the constitutionality of the enacted SB 4 to be determined by the proper federal court in San Antonio, where motions for preliminary injunction are now pending.

FEDERAL COURT RULES LAWSUIT ALLEGING LENDING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST IMMIGRANTS BY WELLS FARGO CAN GO FORWARD

San Francisco, CA – An argument by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. that federal law permits the bank to discriminate against certain immigrants was rejected by a federal judge, ruling in a lawsuit alleging that the financial giant illegally denied qualified applicants, including college students, loans because of their alienage or immigration status.