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.
Court Cases Immigrants’ Rights
MALDEF LAUNCHES FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND TOOLKIT TO ASSIST UNDOCUMENTED YOUTH APPLYING FOR DACA
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.
MALDEF STATEMENT ON SUPREME COURT’S DECISION TO DENY REHEARING OF DAPA/DACA CASE
LOS ANGELES, CA – The United States Supreme Court today denied a petition to rehear United States v. Texas, a case challenging the constitutionality of President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, including the expansion of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the initiation of Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA).
ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL ISSUES OPINION ESTABLISHING CONSTITUTIONAL STANDARDS FOR ENFORCEMENT OF KEY SB 1070 PROVISIONS, ENDING LAWSUIT
MALDEF AND TRANSGENDER LAW CENTER FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST INDIANA GOVERNOR MIKE PENCE CHALLENGING DISCRIMINATORY NAME-CHANGE LAW
IMMIGRANT AND CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS CHALLENGE ARIZONA LAW DENYING DRIVER’S LICENSES TO SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND OTHER IMMIGRANTS
MALDEF FILES SUIT AGAINST UNIVERSITY SYSTEM OF GEORGIA FOR BARRING DEFERRED ACTION STUDENTS ADMISSION TO SELECTIVE UNIVERSITIES
DACA Recipients’ Private Information is Safe For Time Being
MALDEF SUIT STOPS EXCLUSION OF MEXICAN AMERICANS FROM “WHITES ONLY” CEMETERY
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – A MALDEF lawsuit filed in April aimed at stopping the exclusion of Mexican Americans from being buried in a “Whites Only” Cemetery came to a swift end Friday when the Normanna Cemetery Association agreed in court that its policy is discriminatory and violates the rights of Latinos.
JUDGE HANEN AGREES TO STAY HIS ORDER TO TURN OVER PERSONAL INFORMATION ON 50,000 IMMIGRANT YOUTH
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
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
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.
MALDEF PRESENTS ORAL ARGUMENT TO SCOTUS IN DEFENSE OF DAPA IN PIVOTAL IMMIGRATION CASE
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, MALDEF President and General Counsel, Thomas A. Saenz, presented oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Texas, a case challenging the constitutionality of President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, including the expansion of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the initiation of Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA).
MALDEF WINS COURT ORDER BLOCKING TEXAS IMMIGRANT HARBORING LAW
SAN ANTONIO, TX – Today, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking the immigrant harboring provision of HB11, which was enacted in the 2015 Texas Legislative Session. Judge Ezra, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, ruled that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that the Texas immigrant harboring law is preempted by federal law: “Congress created a federal statutory scheme regarding the harboring and transporting of undocumented aliens so pervasive that it left no room in this area for the state of Texas to supplement it.” Judge Ezra also concluded that the Texas immigrant harboring law conflicted with federal harboring law in key respects and thus was likely preempted. Although the court dismissed two other claims put forward by the plaintiffs, the court held that because the Texas immigrant harboring provision was likely unconstitutional, it should be blocked.
CITY OF BALDWIN PARK SETTLES SUIT BROUGHT BY FATHER UNLAWFULLY DETAINED IN VIOLATION OF CALIFORNIA TRUST ACT
LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, MALDEF and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) announced a settlement in the first-ever lawsuit alleging violations of California’s TRUST Act, which limits the situations in which local law enforcement agencies may detain individuals on the basis of immigration hold requests. Plaintiff Sergio Flores was detained by the City of Baldwin Park on an immigration hold over a span of four days in March 2014, following his arrest for driving without a license. Under the settlement announced today, the City will compensate Mr. Flores for emotional distress he suffered during his unlawful detention and will also pay attorneys’ fees and costs.