Thomas Saenz: new president of MALDEF (Villaraigosa, Obama's DOJ, support for illegal immigration)

Thomas Saenz - current chief counsel to Los Angeles City mayor Antonio Villaraigosa - has been selected to be the new president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal 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 He was under consideration to head the civil rights division of the Department of Justice until that was withdrawn due perhaps to him and his affiliations being a bit too on the extreme side.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 of the Latino civil rights organization, Saenz said, is ensuring that all children have equal access to a quality public education. The fund also will continue to combat anti-illegal immigrant sentiment that has been on the rise in some parts of the country. He said comprehensive immigration reform is a critical challenge for the Obama administration and Congress.

Willon also quotes their chairwoman Patricia Madrid:

"The Latino community is currently facing a drastic rise in hate crimes and witnessing an explosive rebirth of extremist anti-immigrant rhetoric and measures that adversely affect all Latinos..."

That "drastic rise" is only true if you try to mislead with statistics.

Thu, 07/16/2009 - 11:27 · · Importance: 4