Immigrants’ Rights

MEDIA ADVISORY

Jan 20, 2017 | ,

PHOENIX, AZ – Civil and immigrants’ rights groups will present oral argument before a federal court on January 20th, asking the judge to issue a preliminary injunction ordering Arizona to provide driver’s licenses to applicants who have received deferred action.

FIFTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS TO HEAR ARGUMENTS ON TEXAS IMMIGRANT HARBORING LAW ON JANUARY 4, 2017

Jan 4, 2017 | ,

New Orleans, LA – MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) will present oral argument at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017, asking the court to uphold a federal court’s preliminary injunction blocking Texas from enforcing a provision in HB 11 that makes it a crime to harbor or conceal someone who is in the U.S. without legal documents.

MALDEF LAUNCHES FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND TOOLKIT TO ASSIST UNDOCUMENTED YOUTH APPLYING FOR DACA

Oct 13, 2016 | , ,

LOS ANGELES, CA – MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) today released a first-of-its-kind toolkit designed to help undocumented youth obtain the critical records needed to apply for temporary relief from deportation under President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. “DACA has already benefitted hundreds of thousands of young immigrants,” said Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF President and General Counsel. “This toolkit should assist countless others who are eligible but have not applied, perhaps because of the difficulty in obtaining the necessary evidence and documentary proof of eligibility for discretionary DACA relief.” Under DACA, undocumented youths who were born after 1981, came to the United States before age 16, and remained in the country since 2007, are eligible to receive relief from potential removal, work authorization, and a Social Security card.

JUDGE HANEN AGREES TO STAY HIS ORDER TO TURN OVER PERSONAL INFORMATION ON 50,000 IMMIGRANT YOUTH

Jun 8, 2016 | , ,

BROWNSVILLE, TX – MALDEF was in United States District court today seeking to stop the federal government’s release of personal information on ten of thousands of young immigrants. In addition, yesterday MALDEF filed papers in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans seeking to block the order of Judge Andrew Hanen requiring the United States to turn over to him the names, addresses and other personal information of approximately 50,000 immigrant youth who received three–year grants of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) between November 2014 and February 2015.

TRIAL JUDGE SEEKS PRIVATE INFORMATION ABOUT IMMIGRANTS IN DAPA/DACA CASE

May 21, 2016 | , ,

AUSTIN, TX – A federal judge in Brownsville, Texas has ordered that the federal government provide him the names and addresses of over 100,000 recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in Texas v. United States, the pivotal case challenging the constitutionality of President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. The order also indicates that the judge may later release this private information to the plaintiff States in the case.

MALDEF SUES TO END “WHITES ONLY” CEMETERY IN TEXAS

Apr 30, 2016 | ,

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – Today, MALDEF filed a lawsuit in a Texas federal court against the Normanna Cemetery Association and its caretaker for maintaining a policy of burying only Anglos in the San Domingo Cemetery, in violation of state and federal prohibitions on race and national origin discrimination. MALDEF filed the lawsuit on behalf of the American G.I. Forum of Texas, a non-profit membership organization that serves and advocates on behalf of Latino military veterans throughout the State of Texas.