News Releases

MALDEF CONDEMNS RADICAL ATTEMPT TO ERODE LONG-SETTLED AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP CLAUSE OF THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT

Jan 29, 2011 | , ,

LOS ANGELES, CA – Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel of MALDEF, issued the statement below in response to a radical proposal by Republican Sens. David Vitter (La.) and Rand Paul (Ky.) that flies in the face of the Fourteenth Amendment’s grant of citizenship to those born in the United States of America. The constitutional right of citizenship at birth, rooted in the hard-fought American values of fairness and equality, should not be subject to political and discriminatory whims. The Vitter-Paul proposal would strip the long-standing grant of citizenship to all born on U.S. soil, and would limit citizenship to those (1) with a parent who is a U.S. citizen; (2) with a parent who is a lawful permanent resident residing in the U.S. or serving on active-duty in the U.S. Armed Forces; or (3) naturalized under immigration law.

MALDEF LAUDS CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT RULING UPHOLDING AB 540, WAIVER OF OUT-OF-STATE FEES FOR ALL QUALIFIED STUDENTS

Nov 16, 2010 | ,

LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, MALDEF applauded the California Supreme Court’s ruling in Martinez v. Regents, upholding the California law known as AB 540. AB 540 provides a waiver of out-of-state tuition fees at California’s public colleges and universities for students – regardless of immigration status – who have completed three years at a California high school and have attained a high school diploma, or the equivalent thereof.