Today marks the 40th anniversary of Plyler v Doe, one of our nation’s most consequential constitutional decisions and a singular achievement in the history of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund). In 1977, MALDEF filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Texas law that sought to exclude undocumented children from the public schoolhouse by […]
MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund)
Posted inCalifornia
MALDEF Sues Credit Union for Discriminating Against DACA Recipient
Fresno, CA, June 1, 2022 – A Latino civil rights organization filed a federal class-action lawsuit today against a Central California credit union that unlawfully denied membership and a loan to a DACA recipient based on her immigration status. MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) filed the suit on behalf of Karla Ayala, […]
Posted inUS
MALDEF Challenges Texas Redistricting Maps
EL PASO, TEXAS, October 18, 2021 – A Latino legal rights organization is suing Texas state officials over newly adopted redistricting maps that violate the federal Voting Rights Act and dilute the voting strength of Latino voters, according to a lawsuit filed today. MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) filed suit in the […]
Posted inOp-Ed
Thomas A. Saenz: Today’s cavalier disregard of Senate rule and protocol should embarrass anyone who purports to believe in following the original intent of Constitutional framers
LOS ANGELES, October 22, 2020 – MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), the leading legal voice for Latinos in the U.S., today denounced the Senate Judiciary Committee decision to support the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. Today, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee moved to rush through the Barrett […]
Posted inUS
Civil Rights Groups Ask Court to Block Trump’s Plan to End Census Count Early
Greenbelt, MD, Sept 1, 2020 – Civil rights groups asked a federal court on Monday to prevent the Trump administration from ending the 2020 Census count more than a month early. Attorneys with MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), and Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC (Advancing Justice | AAJC), and WilmerHale seek […]
Posted inUS
Federal judge denies 7-state request to find DACA unconstitutional
Los Angeles, CA, Aug. 31, 2018 – Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), Nina Perales, vice president of litigation at MALDEF, and Karla Perez, a MALDEF client, issued the following statements in response to a federal court ruling today denying a request by Texas and […]