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Keep up with the latest news on MALDEF’s work in court, in state and federal legislatures, and in your community.

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President’s Message

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Thomas A. Saenz

MALDEF President and General Counsel

News Releases

MALDEF TAKES A STEP TOWARD CIVIL RIGHTS LAWSUIT ON BEHALF OF U.S. CITIZEN DETAINED BY ICE

Jul 2, 2025 | Court Cases Access to Justice, Court Cases Freedom from Open and Obvious Bias and Racism, News Releases

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.

FEDERAL COURT ALLOWS CHALLENGE TO LAS VEGAS/ICE POLICY ON IMMIGRANT DETAINERS TO PROCEED

Jun 20, 2025 | Court Cases Immigrants' Rights, News Releases

LAS VEGAS – A U.S. District Court Judge denied a request by federal immigration officials to be removed as a defendant from a challenge to the City of Las Vegas’s use of unlawful immigration detainers to hold individuals past their release dates on Friday, June 13.

MALDEF HONORS LATINO LEADERS AT 2025 CHICAGO AWARDS BANQUET

Jun 20, 2025 | News Releases

CHICAGO – MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) paid tribute in Chicago last Thursday, June 12, to three leaders who have committed their lives and careers to improving the lives of those in the Latino community and throughout the country.

MALDEF INTERVENES ON BEHALF OF STUDENTS TO DEFEND THE TEXAS DREAM ACT

Jun 11, 2025 | Court Cases Education, Court Cases Immigrants' Rights, News Releases

San Antonio – A Latino civil rights organization has filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit that rescinded in-state tuition for students without lawful immigration status in Texas, according to papers filed today.

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Our History

CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS CHALLENGED ABERCROMBIE & FITCH’S UNLAWFUL HIRING TACTICS ON BEHALF OF LATINO, BLACK AND ASIAN AMERICAN YOUTH

Apr 22, 2022

In the 1990s and the early 2000s, retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, was the hottest place for young people to shop and work. Ubiquitous in malls throughout the U.S., A&F presented a casual “all-American” look that felt exclusive. But that exclusivity was built on...

The Legal Fight to Protect The First Amendment Right of Day Laborers

Dec 13, 2021

MALDEF’s Thomas A. Saenz accompanies a group of day laborers during the height of the challenge to anti-solicitation ordinances enacted by cities in California.Workers who are hired by the day have long been part of the American labor force. In the 19th Century, they...

Celebrating a History of Women Leaders at MALDEF

Mar 28, 2021

Ambassador Vilma Martinez (left) Thomas A. Saenz (center) and Antonia Hernández (right). (Photo taken at MALDEF’s 50th Anniversary Gala in San Antonio, Texas.)As we near the conclusion of Women’s History Month, MALDEF celebrates its organizational history of women in...

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