AUSTIN, TX – The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and a coalition of voting rights groups including Advocacy Inc, the ACLU of Texas, APIAVote, Asian American Action Fund, Asian American Justice Center, the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, Common Cause Texas, League of Women Voters of Texas, OCA Greater Houston Chapter, People For the American Way, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Texans Together Education Fund, Texas AFL-CIO, Texas LULAC (HOPE), Texas NAACP, and the William C. Velasquez Institute called on the Texas Legislature to abandon the controversial voter identification policy proposal that resulted in a partisan stalemate during the 2009 Texas Legislative session.
Public Policy
MALDEF Questions Timing and Consequences of Federal Raids Today in Arizona
United States v. State of Texas
MALDEF and Voto Latino Build Momentum for 2010 Census
Latinos Needed to Apply to California’s New Citizens Redistricting Commission
Statement of Cynthia Valenzuela Dixon National Director of Litigation
MALDEF Criticizes Texas Governor’s Decision to Reject Federal Education Improvement Funds
Landmark Hate Crimes Prevention Legislation Clears U.S. Senate, Heads To President Obama’s Desk
President Obama Signs Legislation Dedicating Federal Courthouse To MALDEF Co-Founder, Judge Armendariz
Senate Votes to Confirm Thomas E. Perez as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate voted 72 to 22 to confirm Maryland Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez as the nation’s Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Department of Justice. The confirmation is long overdue in light of the fact that our nation requires a strong leader for the division after eight years of little civil rights enforcement.
MALDEF & Texas RioGrande Legal Aid Decry School Districts Efforts to Keep Children Out of Schools
SAN ANTONIO, TX – Today, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) strongly criticized Texas school districts seeking to exclude students from enrollment based on allegations that the students do not reside within school district boundaries. MALDEF and TRLA are working to inform parents, students and educators of the legal rights of students attending public schools in Texas and the state and local requirements that school districts must adhere to governing student enrollment.