Summary (posts follow):
Far-left racial power group that strongly supports illegal immigration. Name stands for "Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund" (maldef.org). Has received millions from the Ford Foundation since their founding in 1968 link. Their president Thomas Saenz had been under consideration to join the Barack Obama administration but wasn't selected, perhaps because he was considered too far-left. Their former president John Trasvina was selected for the Obama administration and currently serves as Assistant Secretary of HUD.
According to this, in 2005 this was their board of directors:
- Joseph Stern: Chair
- Herlinda Garcia:1st Vice Chair
- Carlos Montoya:2nd Vice Chair
- Barbara Aldave:3rd Vice Chair
- Don Pierce:Secretary/Treasurer & Fundraising Committee Chair
- Thomas B. Reston:Program & Planning Committee Chair
- Gilberto Cardenas:Community Education & Leadership Development Committee Chair
- Ann Marie Wheelock:Personnel & Nominations Committee Chair
- Antonia Hermandez:President & General Counsel
- Frank Herrera, Jr.:Chair, MALDEF Property Management Corp.
Members:
- Barbara Aldave
- Edward J. Avila
- Mike Baller
- Norma Cantu
- Anna C. Carbonell
- Gilberto Cardenas
- Cecilia Chavez-Protas
- Roberto Cruz
- Liz Figueroa
- Herlinda Garcia
- Frank Herrera, Jr.
- Robert M. Herzberg
- Federico Jimenez
- Leslie M. Kantor
- Arnold J. Kleiner
- Manuel Martinez
- Carlos X. Montoya
- Michael A. Olivas
- Norma Orci
- Don Pierce
- Frank J. Quevedo
- Carlos M. Quinones
- Guadalupe Rangel
- Jesus Rangel
- Thomas B. Reston
- Mat Rezvani
- Jose R. Rodriguez
- Maria Saldana
- Andrew Segovia
- Maritza Soto Keen
- Luis Stelzner
- Joseph Stern
- Peter Villegas
- Ann Marie Wheelock
- Sam Zamarripa
Last modified Feb 21, 2011
... Workers United (as a plaintiff),
* MALDEF,
* PRLDEF,
* Appleseed,
* and smaller local groups.
1. A list of the people involved is at [1]. The complaint is at aclu.org/files/assets/complaint_final.pdf
2. See Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Utah, and Arizona for information on other suits by the same groups together with others.
3. As always, the best way to prevent suits like this is to use the...
... Adam Luna and Lynn Tramonte)
* MALDEF: Thomas Saenz, Jim Ferg Cadima
* League of United Latin American Citizens: Brent Wilkes
* National Immigration Law Center: Marielena Hincapie, Addey Fisshea, Don Lyster, Tyler Moran
* National Immigration Forum: Ali Noorani
* Center for Community Change: Gabe Gonzalez, Kate Kahan
* Migration Policy Institute: Doris Meissner
* Vestar Capital Partners:...
... fame).
UPDATE: Thomas Saenz of MALDEF (which doesn't appear to have been involved in the suit) weighs in. He got one thing right: just because the 2007 law was upheld doesn't mean SB 1070 will prevail. In my opinion, states should just simply copy Arizona's 2007 law for now.
In any case, here's what Saenz says (maldef.org/news/releases/az_evrfy):
"Today's regrettable decision in Chamber of...
... American Civil Liberties Union, MALDEF, and school administrators cheered the decision. (quotes to follow)
--------------
[1] From courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S167791.PDF
The main legal issue is this: [8 U.S.C. S 1623, link] provides that an alien not lawfully present in this country shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a state for any postsecondary education benefit...
... Obledo, an extremist who founded MALDEF. Here's an Obledo quote (link): "California is going to become a Hispanic state. Anyone who doesn't like it should leave."
Later, Salinas asks about the mortgage mess, saying "studies show that 48 percent of all foreclosures in the state involve Latinos". That would seem to be a statistic against interest, except neither Whitman nor Brown pointed out that...
... challenging the law at those links was MALDEF; the last note on their page about the case mentions the appeal: preview.maldef.org/immigration/litigation/redondobeach_v_jornaleros
Note also that MALDEF is among those challenging the new Arizona immigration law, and that Arizona's law contains provisions similar in spirit to those in the Redondo Beach law. At the very least this decision won't...
A group of far-left illegal immigration supporters - including the American Civil Liberties Union, a group that's directly collaborating with the Mexican government - filed a suit today to block the Arizona immigration law from going into effect. The major plaintiffs are listed at [1] and include at list one other group that is or was collaborating with that government. The PDF with the suit is...
... (national and Arizona branch), MALDEF, the National Immigration Law Center, Dolores Huerta, Richard Chavez (brother of Cesar Chavez), and Linda Ronstadt (?) held a news conference in Phoenix to protest the new Arizona immigration law and to announce that they'll be mounting a legal challenge (full press release here).
At the event, Alessandra Soler Meetze, Executive Director of the ACLU of...
... offering general opposition, MALDEF is vowing [1] to take the issue to court; recall they helped block Proposition 187:
Earlier today, Janet Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security held a closed-door meeting with a group of what she calls "stakeholders" (dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1250792978709.shtm) but was actually a vast pantheon (see below) of far-left, racial power, corrupt business, and in general loose borders groups all of which want some form of comprehensive immigration reform, aka amnesty....
... suit are Steptoe and Johnson, MALDEF, and Somos America.
... Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). He was under consideration to head the civil rights division of the Department of Justice until that was withdrawn due perhaps to him and his affiliations being a bit too on the extreme side.
Under his leadership, MALDEF will continue their strong support for illegal immigration. Per Phil Willon of the Los Angeles Times (link):
Among his priorities as head...
... Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) have become increasingly concerned about the virulent anti-immigrant and anti-Latino rhetoric employed by a handful of groups and coalitions that have tried to position themselves as legitimate, mainstream advocates against illegal immigration in America.
Whether those groups were involved in this report or are just mentioned in a misbegotten attempt to give...
Earlier today, Harry Reid met with MALDEF and the National Council of La Raza, presumably to discuss comprehensive immigration reform. Before or after, speaking to reporters, he said this:
"As far as I’m concerned, we have three major issues we have to do this year, if at all possible: No. 1 is healthcare; No 2 is energy, global warming; No. 3 is immigration reform... It’s going to happen this...
... instead siding with the ACLU and MALDEF. Clearly, politics took priority over common sense and good public policy.
"This process is critical to protecting the integrity of our elections. We have evidence that non-citizens have voted in past Georgia elections and that more than 2,100 individuals have attempted to register, yet still have questions regarding their citizenship. Further, the...
... azclean.org, she's been a member of MALDEF, League of United Latin American Citizens, and NALEO. In 2000, she was a state president of the Mexican American Political Association (englishfirst.org/be/arizona/az203anti.htm). She was named SVREP's Arizona director in 2004: svrep.org/press_room/press_releases/04/az/lydia_012704.html
Jerry Gonzalez - a former MALDEF Legislative Policy Analyst now with the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials takes to the pages of the Atlanta Journal Constitution with "Anti-immigrant view hurts state" (link). He doesn't say anything new, just that laws Georgia is trying to pass to curtail illegal immigration in their state are leading to an "anti-immigrant" climate. Somehow, at...
... pro-illegal immigration group MALDEF - has been nominated to the Obama administration. His title is "Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)". This follows the de-appointment of his co-worker Thomas Saenz to another post.
There's more on the FHEO office here: hud.gov/offices/fheo/aboutfheo/aboutfheo.cfm Among other things,...
... that Thomas Saenz - formerly of MALDEF - was going to get the position Perez got. Saenz was apparently selected but then de-selected, perhaps over worries that MALDEF was too extreme or that his strong support for illegal immigration would work against him. So, they selected someone linked to Casa of Maryland instead...
... Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), and lately he was of counsel to the far-left, illegal immigration-supporting mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa.
Needless to say, the ACLU cheered the news:
"I don’t think the president or attorney general could make a better selection," said Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the ACLU of Southern California. "He's a throwback to the great civil...
... DC featuring John Trasvina of MALDEF, Rosa Rosales of the League of United Latin American Citizens, and Simon Rosenberg of the New Democratic Network. As could be expected, it falsely assumes that those racial-power-seeking leaders represent all Hispanics ("[MALDEF] hosted the event, the second annual Latino State of the Union, a gathering of advocates, civil rights activists and lawmakers...
... National Council of La Raza, MALDEF, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and apparently some lawmakers (link). Their comments - and my comments - follow.
The Asian American Justice Center runs the Rights Working Group, a coalition of over 250 leftwing groups, and they have a petition calling on Barack Obama to in effect not do immigration enforcement. They want a "moratorium" while the subject of raids and the like is "studied", but everyone knows what that means. Since there are so many groups, the full roster is here. The main groups are listed...
On December 12, the group Latinos for National Health Insurance (LNHI, president Jaime Torres) convened a meeting in Washington DC where they and a host of other groups created a coalition called the Latino Agenda for Healthcare Reform. They called for an end to a supposed disparity in healthcare coverage between Hispanics and other groups.
And, they also demanded "access to high quality,...
... pressure groups such as the NCLR, MALDEF, and NALEO. The second has an indirect link to the Mexican government, and the last has a direct link.
The ethnic boosting "reporter" Gebe Martinez of the Politico offers "Latinos push for Cabinet posts" (link). Here's the quota bit:
Weeks before Barack Obama won the presidency, he met privately in Washington with his former Democratic rival, Sen....
John McCain is too corrupt to stand up to the far-left and those who support illegal immigration, prefering instead - like Bush - to court those who will never support him.
... racial power groups (NCLR, LULAC, MALDEF), the Democrats, the Mexican government, and others.
... Defense and Educational Fund [MALDEF], said he wanted to see
... Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), and the law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP have sued Arpaio, his Sheriffs Office (MCSO), and the county itself claiming racial profiling. Also involved is the local group Somos America.
The details on the case are here: aclu.org/immigrants/gen/36011prs20080716.html. That also promotes Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon's complaints about Arpaio; Gordon's opponents...
Illegal immigration-supporting hack and Republican Congressman from Utah Chris Cannon will lose the primary election to Jason Chaffetz. With over 80% of the votes counted at post time, Chaffetz leads 60% to about 40%, so it's safe to call.
There are about forty posts at this site mentioning Cannon; use the search function to see them all.
... Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) has at least an indirect link to the Mexican government, and they run a website called "Truth in Immigration" (TII) which, as we'll see, is a misnomer. Their "Fear-mongering in Congress" (truthinimmigration.org/CompleteStory.aspx?sid=55) discusses an attempt by Rep.
The Washington Times - last seen imposing new, euphemism-friendly guidelines - offers the editorial "McCain's quest for the Hispanic vote".
... Cedillo, Peter Schey, LULAC, MALDEF, more at Migrant March II
Mexican official on Democrat Enrique Morones' "Migrant March II"
The release follows.
In a historic agreement to pursue joint strategies to protect the human rights of migrants moving across the Mexico-United States border, the ACLU of San Diego...
In his effort to support illegal immigration and perhaps just gain some fame, Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon now wants the FBI to investigate Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio over whether any civil rights laws were broken civil rights laws during his recent immigration sweeps (link).
In the letter, Gordon race baits, does something no one should do and relies on the characterization of an Arizona...
... president Felipe Calderon (also MALDEF's John Trasvina)
Dirt on Barack Obama: Exelon, Tony Rezko, William Ayers, Rashid Khalidi
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund - two groups indirectly linked to the Mexican government - sued New Mexico's Otero County Sheriff's Department over immigration raids that occurred in that county.
Jennifer Ludden of National Public Radio (NPR) offers a two-part series about those deported from the U.S. to El Salvador in "Deportee Back Home After Near-Death Trip to U.S." (npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89383189) and "Deportee a Stranger in His Homeland" (npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89431942). To a certain extent they're both cautionary tales illustrating why people...
... Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), has launched a new website called "Truth in Immigration" (truthinimmigration.org). Per this:
John Trasvina, president of Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said Thursday the airwaves are dominated by anti-immigrant sentiment.
... Mexican government (ICIRR and MALDEF) and one has allegedly collaborated with that government (CHIRLA). And, one of their member groups (ILIR) has received funding from the Irish government.
In other words, no matter what you hear, it's the same old same old.A new "confidential" study called "Winning The Immigration Debate" has been released by two groups linked to the Democratic Party: the...
From a MALDEF press release, reposted here:
...Along with Los Angeles Federation of Labor leader Maria Elena Durazo [also a national co-chair of Barack Obama's campaign] and Los Angeles Neighborhood Legal Services Executive Director Yvonne Maria Jimenez, [Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund] President and General Couns