DETROIT, MI – Today, MALDEF filed suit in federal court in the Eastern District of Michigan against Systems USA Inc. and Systems USA Consulting LLC for violating the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and the Michigan “Minimum Wage Law.” The companies recruited and enticed Mexican computer programmers to apply for nonexistent jobs, and systematically defrauded the federal government to obtain visas for those individuals by representing that they would be employing the programmers once they traveled to the United States. A copy of the complaint can be viewed here.
News Releases
MALDEF AND PARTNERS RELEASE REPORT DETAILING RECENT VOTER DISCRIMINATION TARGETING LATINO COMMUNITY
WASHINGTON, DC – Two weeks before the one-year anniversary of the infamous Shelby County v HolderSupreme Court decision, which dealt a severe blow to every American’s voting rights by incapacitating a key section of the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA), MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), and National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), today released a new policy report that details the far-reaching discrimination faced by Latino voters in recent election cycles. A copy of the report can be viewed here.
MALDEF AMENDS LANDMARK SUIT TO ADDRESS EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW MEXICO STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
SANTA FE, NM – Today, MALDEF filed an amended complaint in Martinez v. State of New Mexico, adding claims seeking equal educational opportunity for students with disabilities in the state. The suit is an expansion of the comprehensive case filed in April seeking to compel New Mexico to provide a sufficient education to ELL and at-risk students, as mandated by the state’s constitution. The suit is the first ever challenge of the state’s provision of education to at-risk students, and now the first to seek injunctive relief under the New Mexico Constitution for students with disabilities.
MALDEF FILES FEDERAL SUIT CHALLENGING SOUTH CAROLINA DISCRIMINATION AGAINST U.S. CITIZEN
COLUMBIA, SC – Today, MALDEF filed Rocha Herrera v. Finan in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina Spartanburg Division, against the board members of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, asserting that they violate the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The Commission promulgated a rule in 2009, creating a new “non-resident alien” category and denying a U.S. citizen resident of the State the rights of other South Carolina residents based on her parents’ immigration status. The plaintiff, Angelica Rocha Herrera, a Texas-born U.S. citizen and South Carolina resident, was denied financial aid and in-state tuition because of the Commission’s new rule.
MALDEF AND META FILE CIVIL RIGHTS SUIT AGAINST TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY AND INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS
SAN ANTONIO, TX – Today, MALDEF and the Multicultural Education, Training and Advocacy, Inc. (META), filed federal court papers on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), seeking to require that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and two individual school districts, the Southwest and North East Independent School Districts in San Antonio, effectively monitor, implement, enforce and supervise programs for ELLs.
CHALLENGE TO SANTA MARIA ELECTION SYSTEM MOVES FORWARD
LOS ANGELES, CA – Judge James Rigali of the California Superior Court for the County of Santa Barbara has scheduled a June 17, 2014 hearing in Putney v. Garietz. Putney is a case in which MALDEF seeks to compel the Clerk of City of Santa Maria to accept a petition to place a critical voting measure on the November general election ballot. MALDEF represents Hazel Putney, the lead proponent of the initiative and a representative of Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE). The proposed measure would change Santa Maria’s City Council election system from an at-large system to a single-member district system. Rhonda Garietz, Chief Deputy City Clerk of the City of Santa Maria, rejected the petition, alleging that the form of the petition deviated from the Elections Code.
STAY EXTENDED IN VOTER REGISTRATION CASE: TENTH CIRCUIT BLOCKS ERRONEOUS KANSAS COURT ORDER PENDING APPEAL
DENVER, CO – The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has granted MALDEF’s request for a stay of a recent court order that disrupts the national system of registering voters in federal elections. In March, a federal district court in Kansas ordered the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to make changes to the federal mail voter registration form in order to require voter registrants in Kansas and Arizona to provide additional paperwork, unavailable to numerous eligible applicants, to prove their U.S. citizenship. MALDEF and other counsel representing intervenors appealed the decision because it runs contrary to federal law and to the result in Arizona v. ITCA, a case MALDEF won last June, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held, by a 7-2 vote, that state-voting laws must yield to the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993.
MALDEF CO-RELEASES REPORT HIGHLIGHTING UNPRECEDENTED DEPORTATION NUMBERS
LOS ANGELES, CA – MALDEF, together with the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), today released a report that assesses the unprecedented deportation rate of the last six-years, the devastating impact these deportations have had on vulnerable Latino families, and seeks to outline actions toward a more fair and just immigration policy in the United States.
MALDEF SECURES ACCESS TO COURT FOR CARWASHEROS IN CHALLENGE TO UNFAIR WORKING CONDITIONS
LOS ANGELES, CA – MALDEF prevailed in its efforts to ensure access to court in an ongoing class action lawsuit filed on behalf of employees-or “Carwasheros,” as they identify themselves- of three car washes operating in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. The car wash companies include Lincoln Millennium Car Wash, Inc. (doing business as Millennium Car Wash), Silver Wash, Inc. (doing business as Santa Monica Car Wash and Detailing), and Gold Wash (doing business as Bubble Bee Car Wash).
MALDEF WELCOMES TEXAS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION DECISION ENCOURAGING THE DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS FOR ETHNIC STUDIES COURSES
SAN ANTONIO, TX – Today, MALDEF congratulated the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) for its approval of a measure asking publishers to develop instructional materials for locally developed courses next year in Mexican American, African American, Native American, and Asian American Studies. The 12-2 SBOE vote allows public schools to use these materials to teach ethnic studies courses under the Special Topics in Social Studies curriculum standards.
ARIZONA SUPERIOR COURT GRANTS MALDEF MOTION TO INTERVENE ON BEHALF OF DACA STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION CASE
PHOENIX, AZ – The state court considering an unusual case in which Arizona is suing one of its own community college districts for recognizing that Arizonans should be treated equally, has granted MALDEF’s motion to intervene to represent Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students attending the Maricopa County College District (MCCD). On Friday, the Maricopa County Superior Court held a status conference regarding the dispute with the State of Arizona. Arizona seeks to prevent DACA students from presenting federal employment authorization documents (“EADs”) as proof of eligibility for in-state tuition at MCCD, though MCCD has accepted this federal form for many years.
APPEAL DOCKETED TO STOP ERRONEOUS KANSAS COURT ORDER FROM BLOCKING VOTER PARTICIPATION
DENVER, CO – MALDEF has appealed a recent court order that disrupts the national system of registering voters in federal elections. In the case, a federal district court in Kansas ordered the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to make changes to the federal mail voter registration form in order to require voter registrants in Kansas and Arizona to provide additional, burdensome paperwork to prove their U.S. citizenship. The decision runs contrary to the result in Arizona v. ITCA, a case won last June by MALDEF, in which the U.S. Supreme Court held, by a 7-2 vote, that state-voting laws must yield to the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993.
MALDEF SUPPORTS CALIFORNIA SCHOOL BOARD VOTE TO COMPLY WITH CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT AND CREATE SINGLE MEMBER VOTING DISTRICTS
MALDEF GIVES WARNING TO CITY OF MERCED THAT AT-LARGE ELECTIONS VIOLATE CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT
MALDEF CHALLENGES NEW MEXICO’S DENIAL OF THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO EDUCATION IN MOST COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY LAWSUIT YET FILED
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO – In the first case of its kind filed in the State, MALDEF today filed a lawsuit, Louise Martinez v State of New Mexico, seeking to establish education as a fundamental right and to ensure that New Mexico’s at-risk children are provided a sufficient education as required under the New Mexico Constitution. The suit, separate from one filed weeks ago that centered on funding, was brought on behalf of several frustrated parents and public school children from around the state, including Española, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Zuni, Magdalena, Las Cruces and Gadsden.