WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California rejected a request for a new trial in the Flores v. City of Westminster case earlier this week. The Court’s decision upholds the jury’s verdict finding that Westminster discriminated and retaliated against the Latino police officers who were denied promotions and special assignments. The Court also ruled that the jury’s decision awarding $3.34 million in damages to the three Latino officers will stand.
News Releases
TEXAS APPLESEED AND MALDEF FILE FEDERAL COMPLAINT CHALLENGING LEAGUE CITY RESOLUTION THAT BANS CHILD REFUGEES
AUSTIN, TX – A complaint filed today with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development challenges a resolution passed by League City, Texas, that denies housing to child refugees in their city. The complaint is the first action of its kind since jurisdictions in Texas began passing anti-refugee resolutions in response to the 57,000 children who have arrived at the U.S. border this year to escape violence in countries including El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
FIFTH CIRCUIT UPHOLDS UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HOLISTIC ADMISSIONS PROGRAM
AUSTIN, TX – Today, in Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the University of Texas at Austin’s holistic admissions plan, affirming the university’s ability to consider the race of an applicant as one of many factors in its admissions decisions. The U.S. Supreme Court remanded the case to the Fifth Circuit in June 2013, after it held that the Fifth Circuit had not applied the correct standard in judging the University of Texas admissions program. On remand, the Fifth Circuit received briefing from the parties, as well as from MALDEF, which filed an amicus brief on behalf of twenty state and national Latino organizations urging the court to affirm the constitutionality of UT-Austin’s plan as a complement to the Top Ten Percent Plan.
MALDEF FILES SUIT AGAINST CITY OF BELLFLOWER FOR VIOLATING CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT
BELLFLOWER, CA – Today, MALDEF, together with the law firm of Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho, and the Law Offices of Robert Rubin, filed suit against the City of Bellflower for violating the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (“CVRA”). The City uses an at-large method to elect its Council Members, which has denied Latino and African American residents the opportunity to elect Council Members of their choice.
CITY OF MERCED AGREES TO LET VOTERS DECIDE THIS NOVEMBER ON BY-DISTRICT ELECTIONS
MERCED, CA – Late last night, the City of Merced voted to place on the November ballot an ordinance that would change the at-large election system to a by-district system for each of the six seats on the Merced City Council. The council supports the measure as the most appropriate course of action to ensure optimal geographic representation on the council, and to ensure that all city residents are able to elect candidates of their choice.
MALDEF SUES MICHIGAN COMPANIES FOR IMMIGRATION FRAUD AND LABOR VIOLATIONS
DETROIT, MI – Today, MALDEF filed suit in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan against Systems USA Inc. and Systems USA Consulting LLC for violating the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the Michigan “Minimum Wage Law.” The companies recruited and enticed Mexican computer programmers to apply for nonexistent jobs, and systematically defrauded the federal government to obtain visas for those individuals by representing that they would be employing the programmers once they traveled to the United States. A copy of the complaint can be viewed here.
MALDEF AND PARTNERS RELEASE REPORT DETAILING RECENT VOTER DISCRIMINATION TARGETING LATINO COMMUNITY
WASHINGTON, DC – Two weeks before the one-year anniversary of the infamous Shelby County v HolderSupreme Court decision, which dealt a severe blow to every American’s voting rights by incapacitating a key section of the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA), MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), and National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), today released a new policy report that details the far-reaching discrimination faced by Latino voters in recent election cycles. A copy of the report can be viewed here.
MALDEF AMENDS LANDMARK SUIT TO ADDRESS EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW MEXICO STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
SANTA FE, NM – Today, MALDEF filed an amended complaint in Martinez v. State of New Mexico, adding claims seeking equal educational opportunity for students with disabilities in the state. The suit is an expansion of the comprehensive case filed in April seeking to compel New Mexico to provide a sufficient education to ELL and at-risk students, as mandated by the state’s constitution. The suit is the first ever challenge of the state’s provision of education to at-risk students, and now the first to seek injunctive relief under the New Mexico Constitution for students with disabilities.
MALDEF FILES FEDERAL SUIT CHALLENGING SOUTH CAROLINA DISCRIMINATION AGAINST U.S. CITIZEN
COLUMBIA, SC – Today, MALDEF filed Rocha Herrera v. Finan in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina Spartanburg Division, against the board members of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, asserting that they violate the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Commission promulgated a rule in 2009, creating a new “non-resident alien” category and denying a U.S. citizen resident of the State the rights of other South Carolina residents based on her parents’ immigration status. The plaintiff, Angelica Rocha Herrera, a Texas-born U.S. citizen and South Carolina resident, was denied financial aid and in-state tuition because of the Commission’s new rule.
MALDEF AND META FILE CIVIL RIGHTS SUIT AGAINST TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY AND INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS
SAN ANTONIO, TX – Today, MALDEF and the Multicultural Education, Training and Advocacy, Inc. (META), filed federal court papers on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), seeking to require that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and two individual school districts, the Southwest and North East Independent School Districts in San Antonio, effectively monitor, implement, enforce and supervise programs for ELLs.
CHALLENGE TO SANTA MARIA ELECTION SYSTEM MOVES FORWARD
LOS ANGELES, CA – Judge James Rigali of the California Superior Court for the County of Santa Barbara has scheduled a June 17, 2014 hearing in Putney v. Garietz. Putney is a case in which MALDEF seeks to compel the Clerk of City of Santa Maria to accept a petition to place a critical voting measure on the November general election ballot. MALDEF represents Hazel Putney, the lead proponent of the initiative and a representative of Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE). The proposed measure would change Santa Maria’s City Council election system from an at-large system to a single-member district system. Rhonda Garietz, Chief Deputy City Clerk of the City of Santa Maria, rejected the petition, alleging that the form of the petition deviated from the Elections Code.
STAY EXTENDED IN VOTER REGISTRATION CASE: TENTH CIRCUIT BLOCKS ERRONEOUS KANSAS COURT ORDER PENDING APPEAL
DENVER, CO – The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has granted MALDEF’s request for a stay of a recent court order that disrupts the national system of registering voters in federal elections. In March, a federal district court in Kansas ordered the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to make changes to the federal mail voter registration form in order to require voter registrants in Kansas and Arizona to provide additional paperwork, unavailable to numerous eligible applicants, to prove their U.S. citizenship. MALDEF and other counsel representing intervenors appealed the decision because it runs contrary to federal law and to the result in Arizona v. ITCA, a case MALDEF won last June, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held, by a 7-2 vote, that state-voting laws must yield to the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993.
MALDEF CO-RELEASES REPORT HIGHLIGHTING UNPRECEDENTED DEPORTATION NUMBERS
LOS ANGELES, CA – MALDEF, together with the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), today released a report that assesses the unprecedented deportation rate of the last six-years, the devastating impact these deportations have had on vulnerable Latino families, and seeks to outline actions toward a more fair and just immigration policy in the United States.
MALDEF SECURES ACCESS TO COURT FOR CARWASHEROS IN CHALLENGE TO UNFAIR WORKING CONDITIONS
LOS ANGELES, CA – MALDEF prevailed in its efforts to ensure access to court in an ongoing class action lawsuit filed on behalf of employees-or “Carwasheros,” as they identify themselves- of three car washes operating in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. The car wash companies include Lincoln Millennium Car Wash, Inc. (doing business as Millennium Car Wash), Silver Wash, Inc. (doing business as Santa Monica Car Wash and Detailing), and Gold Wash (doing business as Bubble Bee Car Wash).
MALDEF WELCOMES TEXAS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION DECISION ENCOURAGING THE DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS FOR ETHNIC STUDIES COURSES
SAN ANTONIO, TX – Today, MALDEF congratulated the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) for its approval of a measure asking publishers to develop instructional materials for locally developed courses next year in Mexican American, African American, Native American, and Asian American Studies. The 12-2 SBOE vote allows public schools to use these materials to teach ethnic studies courses under the Special Topics in Social Studies curriculum standards.