What does MALDEF stand for?
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
MALDEF | Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Immigrants’ Rights.
What type of interest group is MALDEF?
Founded in 1968, MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) is the nation’s leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Our commitment is to protect and defend the rights of all Latinos living in the United States and the constitutional rights of all Americans.
What did MALDEF do?
MALDEF challenges a Texas law denying funding to educate some immigrants. The 1977 lawsuit leads to the landmark 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the constitutional right to a free K-12 public school education for all children regardless of immigration status.
Who founded Naleo?
Representative Edward R. Roybal
National Association of Latino Democratic Officials is founded by U.S. Representative Edward R. Roybal who served as President until 1999. Organization changes its name to NALEO to reflect nonpartisan status and inclusion of all Latino public officials.
Who founded MALDEF?
Mario G. ObledoMexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund / Founder
What legislation has MALDEF supported?
In 1994 MALDEF successfully challenged California’s Proposition 187, a ballot initiative that denied public education, social services, and health services to undocumented immigrants.
How does MALDEF achieve their goals?
MALDEF labors to secure the rights of Latinos primarily in the areas of employment, education, immigrant’s rights, voting rights and political access, and public resource equity. MALDEF achieves these objectives and goals through litigation, advocacy, community education and leadership development, and communications.
How is MALDEF funded?
Finances. MALDEF receives a substantial portion of its contribution revenue from organized left-wing interests, most prominently the Ford Foundation.