PHOENIX, AZ – Late yesterday, a federal district court judge in Arizona permanently blocked a ban on drivers’ licenses for immigrant youth ordered by Governor Jan Brewer. The ruling is the latest in a series of victories for DREAMers in Arizona Dream Act Coalition v. Brewer, a lawsuit brought by civil rights groups challenging the state’s denial of licenses to immigrants who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) under a federal program.
News Releases
CITY OF BELLFLOWER AGREES TO LET VOTERS DECIDE ON DISTRICT ELECTIONS
BELLFLOWER, CA – Today, the City of Bellflower voted to place on the November 2016 ballot an ordinance that would change the at-large election system to a by-district system for each of the seats on its City Council. The council supports the measure as the most appropriate course of action to ensure optimal geographic representation on the council, and to ensure that all city residents are able to elect candidates of their choice.
MALDEF SUES JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. FOR DISCRIMINATION AGAINST EMPLOYEE WITH HIV
LOS ANGELES, CA – MALDEF filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Chase) in Los Angeles County Superior Court late last week for unlawful discrimination against former Vice President of Community Development Banking, Jesus Leon. The suit seeks damages for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
NINTH CIRCUIT REAFFIRMS MALDEF DESEGREGATION TRIUMPHS IN TUCSON, ARIZONA
LOS ANGELES, CA – Earlier this week, in two orders, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed steps taken to move toward favorable resolution of the historic desegregation case, Mendoza v. Tucson Unified School District (TUSD). Under the court-adopted plan to resolve the 40-year old case, TUSD must, among other things, implement culturally relevant courses at its schools. In two separate appeals, the Court denied the state of Arizona’s attempt to intervene in the case to challenge the implementation of the ethnic studies curriculum, and it denied TUSD’s attempt to circumvent District Court orders that expedite steps to eliminate segregation within the District. The case was filed by MALDEF in 1974 in federal district court in Tucson.
SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO ALLOW ARIZONA TO DENY DRIVER’S LICENSES TO IMMIGRANT YOUTH
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Immigrant youth will be allowed to receive driver’s licenses in Arizona while the Supreme Court considers whether or not to hear an appeal of a Ninth Circuit ruling in Arizona Dream Act Coalition v. Brewer, a lawsuit challenging the state’s denial of licenses to immigrants who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) under a federal program.
MALDEF ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS IN 2014 LAW SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AND OPENS APPLICATIONS FOR 2015
LOS ANGELES, CA – Today, MALDEF announced the twelve recipients of its 2014 law school scholarships, doubling the number of law school students receiving the scholarships from last year. MALDEF has annually awarded scholarships to five or more law students of up to $5000 each. Additionally, MALDEF announced that the application for the 2015 Law School Scholarship is now open, and that applications are due Friday, January 15, 2015.
FEDERAL APPEALS COURT REJECTS ARIZONA’S REQUEST TO REHEAR DRIVER’S LICENSE CASE
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected a request to reconsider its earlier ruling that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s denial of driver’s licenses to certain young immigrants is unconstitutional. The move validates a decision issued in July, ordering the state to stop depriving those young immigrants who came to this country as children from obtaining a driver’s license. This group of young people—who have permission from the federal government to live and work in the U.S.—are seriously impaired by their inability to get drivers’ licenses, the court stated.
FEDERAL COURT: ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS PROTECT DACA RECIPIENTS
NEW YORK CITY, NY – On the cusp of a critical presidential announcement of broadened affirmative relief for immigrants currently unprotected by law, an important decision emanated from federal court last week. Judge Katherine B. Forrest of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the company’s policy of denying employment to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. MALDEF and co-counsel Outten & Golden LLP represent the plaintiff, Ruben Juarez, who was unlawfully rejected for a position at Northwestern Mutual under a policy that denies employment to all persons who are not either U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.
MALDEF STATEMENT ON PRESIDENT OBAMA’S IMMIGRATION ACCOUNTABILITY EXECUTIVE ACTIONS
LGBT AND CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS: DON’T EXCLUDE LGBT IMMIGRANTS FROM AFFIRMATIVE RELIEF
WASHINGTON, D.C. – LGBT and civil rights organizations strongly urge President Obama not to exclude long-resident LGBT individuals from the forthcoming program of administrative relief to protect from deportation some of the nation’s population. Last week, media outlets reported that a program was under consideration of relief for upwards of five million undocumented individuals—but only for those with children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. This approach would disproportionately exclude the 267,000 undocumented LGBT individuals who have significantly lower rates of parenthood and higher rates of victimization in our nation’s immigration enforcement system.
MALDEF CHALLENGES DISCRIMINATORY VOTING SYSTEM IN PASADENA, TEXAS
HOUSTON, TX – Today, MALDEF filed suit against the City of Pasadena, Texas, challenging the city’s new voting system, which was adopted last November in a close election. The measure eliminated two of Pasadena’s eight single-member voting districts and replaced them with two at-large seats. The lawsuit, filed by Latino voters in Pasadena, argues that the new system is unconstitutional and violates the federal Voting Rights Act by diluting Latino voting strength.
FEDERAL COURT REJECTS LATEST ATTEMPT TO CREATE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF CONSTITUENTS THROUGH EXCLUSIONARY REDISTRICTING
AUSTIN, TX – Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas dismissed Evenwel v. Perry, a lawsuit which attempted to force the Texas Legislature to redraw its Senate District boundaries based on the voting electorate rather than total population numbers. MALDEF sought to intervene in the case on behalf of the Texas Senate Hispanic Caucus, five registered voters, and a U.S. citizen minor, but the court dismissed the case before ruling on the motion to intervene.
MALDEF PREVAILS IN TENTH CIRCUIT: WINS DECISION THAT KANSAS AND ARIZONA CANNOT BURDEN VOTER REGISTRATIONS
DENVER, CO – Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed a decision by the federal district court in Kansas, which ordered the federal government to add onerous voter registration requirements to the federal voter registration form. Today’s court of appeals decision concluded that Kansas and Arizona, which had sued to force the federal government to incorporate citizenship documentation requirements on the federal voter registration form, had failed to prove that the current voter registration requirements were inadequate and that non-citizens had registered to vote using the federal form.
NATIONAL LATINO LEADERS CALL ON PRESIDENT TO FULFILL PROMISE WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY TO HALT DEPORTATIONS FOR MILLIONS
WASHINGTON, DC – MALDEF and The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 39 of the nation’s preeminent Latino organizations, calls on President Barack Obama not to delay in fulfilling his promise to grant affirmative relief from deportation to as broad a range of undocumented immigrants as possible. The president, who previously committed to take action before the end of the summer, then said he would delay such action until after Tuesday’s mid-term elections. This delay has already resulted in an estimated 70,000 additional unnecessary deportations.