Public Policy Immigrants’ Rights

MALDEF STATEMENT ON GUILTY PLEA IN EL PASO MASSACRE

Feb 9, 2023 | , , ,

LOS ANGELES – A Texas white nationalist who murdered 23 people and injured nearly two dozen more during a mass shooting in 2019 at a Walmart in El Paso pleaded guilty Wednesday to 90 criminal counts, including 45 counts of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The confessed shooter admitted that he targeted the Latino community and chose to carry out the massacre in El Paso because it was a border city. Under a plea agreement, the white nationalist will be sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms.

MALDEF STATEMENT ON AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION’S ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION SUPPORTING COMPLETE APPORTIONMENT COUNT

Feb 15, 2022 | , , ,

LOS ANGELES –  The American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates yesterday approved a resolution urging federal agencies to “follow laws and adopt policies to ensure that all persons in each state, regardless of immigration status, are included in the apportionment count used to redistribute seats in the United States House of Representatives following each decennial census.”  The resolution was presented to the House of Delegates by MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) President and General Counsel Thomas A. Saenz, who is a member of the ABA Coalition on Racial and Ethnic Justice.

MALDEF ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAM TO COMBAT OPEN BIAS AND RACISM ON ANNIVERSARY OF DEADLIEST HATE-MOTIVATED ATTACK ON LATINOS

Aug 3, 2021 | , , , ,

LOS ANGELES – Two years after the deadliest hate-motivated attack on Latinos in the United States took place in El Paso Texas, MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) is launching a new initiative to combat bias and racism against Latinos.

MALDEF STATEMENT ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHICANO MORATORIUM

Aug 30, 2020 | , , , ,

LOS ANGELES – Fifty years ago, thousands of peaceful protesters took to the streets of East Los Angeles to draw attention to the disproportionately high number of Mexican Americans drafted and killed in the Vietnam War and the fight for Latino civil rights. The rally turned violent after police arrived. Those killed included journalist Ruben Salazar, who was covering the struggles facing the Latino community across the Southwest.

MALDEF STATEMENT ON APPOINTMENT OF FORMER LEADER OF ANTI-IMMIGRANT GROUP TO HELP ESTABLISH DETENTION OVERSIGHT OFFICE

Jan 30, 2020 | , ,

(LOS ANGELES) – Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) issued the following statement in response to a news report that Julie Kirchner, a former leader of FAIR, an anti-immigrant hate group, has been appointed to establish an ombudsman office that handles complaints of civil rights violations in immigration detention centers:

MALDEF STATEMENT ON TRUMP’S THREAT TO VETO SPENDING BILL OVER DACA PROVISION

Jan 4, 2020 | , , ,

LOS ANGELES – The Washington Post today reported that Trump administration officials threatened to shut down the federal government last month over a dispute about a provision in a year-end spending bill that would have allowed immigrants who are authorized to work under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to obtain jobs on Capitol Hill.

MALDEF Marks Anniversary of DACA By Urging U.S. Senate to Pass the Dream and Promise Act

Jun 18, 2019 | , ,

LOS ANGELES – Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) issued the following statement today, marking the seventh anniversary of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an initiative that allows undocumented youth to live, study and work in the U.S. MALDEF urges the U.S. Senate to adopt the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019. The measure would provide a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients, and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and is crucial to the future of our nation: