PHOENIX, AZ – The state court considering an unusual case in which Arizona is suing one of its own community college districts for recognizing that Arizonans should be treated equally, has granted MALDEF’s motion to intervene to represent Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students attending the Maricopa County College District (MCCD). On Friday, the Maricopa County Superior Court held a status conference regarding the dispute with the State of Arizona. Arizona seeks to prevent DACA students from presenting federal employment authorization documents (“EADs”) as proof of eligibility for in-state tuition at MCCD, though MCCD has accepted this federal form for many years.
News Releases
APPEAL DOCKETED TO STOP ERRONEOUS KANSAS COURT ORDER FROM BLOCKING VOTER PARTICIPATION
DENVER, CO – MALDEF has appealed a recent court order that disrupts the national system of registering voters in federal elections. In the case, 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, burdensome paperwork to prove their U.S. citizenship. The decision runs contrary to the result in Arizona v. ITCA, a case won last June by MALDEF, 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 SUPPORTS CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD VOTE TO COMPLY WITH CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT AND CREATE SINGLE MEMBER VOTING DISTRICTS
MALDEF GIVES WARNING TO CITY OF MERCED THAT AT-LARGE ELECTIONS VIOLATE CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT
MALDEF CHALLENGES NEW MEXICO’S DENIAL OF THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO EDUCATION IN MOST COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY LAWSUIT YET FILED
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO – In the first case of its kind filed in the State, MALDEF today filed a lawsuit, Louise Martinez v State of New Mexico, seeking to establish education as a fundamental right and to ensure that New Mexico’s at-risk children are provided a sufficient education as required under the New Mexico Constitution. The suit, separate from one filed weeks ago that centered on funding, was brought on behalf of several frustrated parents and public school children from around the state, including Española, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Zuni, Magdalena, Las Cruces and Gadsden.
MALDEF FILES EMPLOYMENT SUIT AGAINST ILLINOIS NUT PROCESSING PLANT
CHICAGO, IL – Today, MALDEF filed suit, in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois, against Illinois nut processing company, John B Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (aka Fisher Nuts), for violating the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and unlawfully terminating a Latino employee two days after he was diagnosed with cancer. During his tenure, the employee, a production supervisor, had been vocal about the unequal treatment of Latino workers by higher management. The suit seeks damages for the surviving spouse of the now deceased employee, Martin Palma Salcedo.
MALDEF MOVES FORWARD IN SEEKING DAMAGES FOR MINOR IN MARYLAND UNLAWFUL ARREST AND DETENTION CASE
BALTIMORE, MD – Crisfield, Maryland Patrolman Lawrence Daisey this week answered a lawsuit filed against him for unlawfully arresting and detaining a 12-year-old who accidentally broke a laundromat window in Somerset County in December 2010. The suit, filed on February 17 by MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, is on behalf of the Villafuerte family and their minor daughter, cited as “M.V.” in the complaint. The Villafuerte family have been residents of Somerset County for more than 20 years.
JURY AWARDS MILLIONS TO LATINO POLICE OFFICERS IN MALDEF SUIT AGAINST OC POLICE DEPARTMENT
SANTA ANA, CA – MALDEF and co-counsel J. Bernard Alexander has secured victory in Flores v. City of Westminster, a lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California in which attorneys successfully asserted the rights of three accomplished Latino police officers who were consistently denied coveted promotions and special assignments in retaliation for their complaints of discrimination. The jury found that the three Latino officers had indeed been denied special assignments that groom them for promotion within the department, and awarded the officers $3.55 million in damages.
MALDEF PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL, THOMAS A. SAENZ REACTS TO THE SENATE’S FAILURE TO CONFIRM RESPECTED CIVIL RIGHTS LAWYER, DEBO ADEGBILE
LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, in a 47-52 vote, the U.S. Senate refused to end a filibuster, and thus failed to confirm respected civil rights attorney, Debo Adegbile, as Assistant Attorney General to lead the civil rights division of the U.S Department of Justice. MALDEF President and General Counsel, Thomas A. Saenz, issued the following statement in reaction:
SUPREME COURT RULING IN FARMERS BRANCH, TX CASE BAD SIGN FOR DEFENDERS OF FREMONT, NEBRASKA ANTI-IMMIGRANT HOUSING ORDINANCE
WASHINGTON, DC – MALDEF, counsel in challenges to nearly identical local anti-immigrant housing ordinances in Nebraska and Texas, welcomed today’s U.S. Supreme Court decision refusing to review a decision by the full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that the Farmers Branch, Texas tenant-licensing ordinance is an unconstitutional intrusion on the exclusive federal authority to regulate immigration. The Supreme Court’s action today supports MALDEF’s request that the Supreme Court review the related case against the City of Fremont, Nebraska. In the Fremont case, a divided panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a tenant-licensing scheme nearly identical to the one struck down in Farmers Branch.
MALDEF MOURNS THE LOSS OF FOUNDING BOARD MEMBER, DR. HENRY J. CASSO
MALDEF’s 2014 “Latino State of the Union” to Address Critical Public Policy Issues Facing the Latino Community
MALDEF PRESENTS CLOSING ARGUMENT IN CASE DEFENDING RIGHTS OF TEXAS SCHOOL CHILDREN
AUSTIN, TX – Today at 2 pm CST, MALDEF will present closing argument before the Travis County District Court in Austin, showing that the Texas public school finance system remains inequitable and inadequate. Last year, Travis County District Court Judge John K. Dietz held that the system was arbitrary, inequitable and inadequate under the Texas Constitution, citing gross inequities for property-poor school districts and failures of the system for low income and English Language Learner (ELL) children.
MALDEF MOURNS THE LOSS OF ADELFA CALLEJO, FORMER VICE CHAIR OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS
LOS ANGELES, CA – MALDEF mourns the loss of Dallas civil rights leader and one of its former Board members, Adelfa Botello Callejo. Callejo was an attorney, civic leader and one of the most-respected Hispanic activists in the country. She was 90 and had battled a return of brain cancer since last year.
TRIAL BEGINS IN MALDEF EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION SUIT AGAINST ORANGE COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
SANTA ANA, CA – On Tuesday, January 28, 2014, in a suit against the city of Westminster, California, MALDEF will commence trial, in the United States District Court for the Central District of California before the Honorable David O. Carter, to defend the rights of three accomplished Latino police officers who were consistently denied coveted promotions and special assignments because of their national origin. After filing complaints in 2010, the officers experienced severe workplace retaliation from superiors in the form of written reprimands, superfluous internal affairs investigations, negative reviews, and suspension.