Court Cases Immigrants’ Rights

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.

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.

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.

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.

SANTA FE, NM – Today, MALDEF and its co-counsel announced that three New Mexico state legislators have filed a request to join a lawsuit to block the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department and Secretary Demesia Padilla (collectively, “TRD”) from continuing to unlawfully withhold millions of dollars from immigrant taxpayers who use federal Individual Tax Identification Numbers (“ITINs”) to file their returns. The legislators include the Honorable Gerald Ortiz y Pino, New Mexico State Senator; the Honorable Richard Martinez, New Mexico State Senator; and the Honorable Miguel P. Garcia, New Mexico State Representative. The law firm of Freedman, Boyd, Hollander Goldberg Urias & Ward, P.A., and the New Mexico non-profit organization, Somos Un Pueblo Unido, are co-counsel in the case.

PASADENA, CA – The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday affirmed a lower court’s ruling that permanently blocks Arizona from denying driver’s licenses to immigrants who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

SANTA FE, NM – This week, MALDEF formally requested an injunction in state district court against the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department and Secretary Demesia Padilla (collectively, “TRD”) to prevent them from continuing to unlawfully withhold millions of dollars from immigrant taxpayers who use federal Individual Tax Identification Numbers (“ITINs”) to file their tax returns until two pending lawsuits, originally filed in February of 2015, are resolved. The law firm of Freedman, Boyd, Hollander Goldberg Urias & Ward, P.A., and the New Mexico non-profit organization, Somos Un Pueblo Unido, are co-counsel in the case.

PHOENIX, AZ – MALDEF and five other legal organizations that advocate for the rights of immigrants sent a letter to Gov. Doug Ducey yesterday explaining the severe legal and policy implications of an unconstitutional, anti-immigrant bill that is moving in the Arizona Legislature.

SAN ANTONIO, TX – Today, MALDEF filed a legal challenge to Texas House Bill 11’s immigrant harboring provision, which targets workers at immigrant shelters and landlords who rent to undocumented immigrants. HB 11 creates a new felony offense of immigrant harboring under which individuals can be arrested and prosecuted for providing shelter or renting a home to undocumented immigrants.