Access to Justice
MALDEF works to ensure that the Latino community enjoys ready access to a judicial system that provides meaningful redress to the denial of rights with respect to all basic human needs and services.
Through legal action, MALDEF works to help enact laws and policies to ensure that the Latino community has equal access to the same rights and benefits available to everyone else in this society.
MALDEF is committed to seeing that the days of separate and unequal access are relegated to the past.
Access to Justice
MALDEF TAKES A STEP TOWARD CIVIL RIGHTS LAWSUIT ON BEHALF OF U.S. CITIZEN DETAINED BY ICE
LOS ANGELES – A Latino civil rights organization is taking a first step toward a civil lawsuit and asking the federal government to pay damages of $1 million to a United States citizen who was assaulted and unlawfully detained by federal immigration officers in front of a Home Depot.
ILLINOIS ENACTS LANGUAGE EQUITY BILL FOR ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
(CHICAGO) – MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) partnered with Illinois state lawmakers to enact a law requiring interpretive assistance for people with limited English proficiency who have low incomes or who represent themselves in state administrative hearings.
JUDGE REJECTS TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL’S EFFORT TO SHUT DOWN HOUSTON NON-PROFIT
(HOUSTON) – A Texas state judge denied Attorney General Ken Paxton’s attempt to sue a Houston-based non-profit, according to an order entered on Friday. Today’s ruling prevents Paxton’s proposed lawsuit from moving forward and also denies Paxton’s request for a temporary injunction to shut down the non-profit.
MALDEF MOVES TO BLOCK TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL’S EFFORT TO SHUT DOWN HOUSTON NON-PROFIT
HOUSTON – A Latino civil rights organization is asking a state court to reject Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to shut down a Houston nonprofit while his office pursues a legal challenge to the group’s charter.
MALDEF SUES MAN WHO LAUNCHED RACIST AND ANTI-IMMIGRANT TIRADE ON SANTA CLARITA STREET VENDOR
LOS ANGELES – A former public school teacher who launched a racist and anti-immigrant tirade against a Santa Clarita street vendor is being sued by a Latino civil rights group for civil assault and violating California civil rights laws.
COLORADO SCHOOL DISTRICT SUED FOR VIOLATING STUDENT’S RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH
DENVER, COLORADO – A Colorado school district’s decision to ban a student from wearing a sash at her graduation ceremony that honors her Mexican American heritage is unconstitutional, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.
Federal Government Sued Over Intentional Cruelty at Georgia Immigration Center
LOS ANGELES – A transgender immigrant held in solitary confinement for approximately seven months at a Georgia immigration detention center that is under investigation for abuse is suing the federal government.
Trump Administration Sued Over Intentional Cruelty at Georgia Immigration Detention Center
ATLANTA – A transgender asylum seeker held in solitary confinement for six months solely because of his gender identity is suing the federal government.
MALDEF STATEMENT ON FEDERAL COURT RULING IN DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT ON CARES ACT
LOS ANGELES – A federal judge in Maryland has denied the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss a constitutional challenge to a provision of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) that discriminates against mixed-status married couples.
MALDEF Statement on Expedited Appeal in Census Lawsuit
LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has agreed to expedite an appeal filed by MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) in a challenge to the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.