[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19902]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       40TH ANNIVERSARY OF MALDEF

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise to call the attention of the Senate 
to the 40th anniversary of the leading Latino litigation, advocacy, 
community education, and outreach organization in the United States. 
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, MALDEF, 
celebrates 40 years of protecting and promoting the civil rights of 
Latinos in the United States.
  MALDEF'S service to the Latino community is exemplary; they utilize 
multiple strategies to foster sound public policies, laws, and programs 
that secure the civil rights of Latinos. Their work on employment, 
education, immigration, political access, language, and public resource 
equity issues is pivotal to the advancement and progress of the Latino 
community in the United States.
  Over its rich 40-year history, MALDEF has been led by some of the 
best and brightest Hispanic leaders who paved the way for excellence in 
nonprofit leadership. Thanks to the fine leadership of Mario Obledo, 
MALDEF's first president and general counsel; Antonia Hernandez, who 
served MALDEF for 23 years; and John Trasvina, MALDEF's current 
president and general counsel, we have much to celebrate. MALDEF's 
leadership is heard throughout the nation from their headquarters in 
Los Angeles, to San Antonio, Chicago, Washington, DC, Houston, and 
Sacramento.
  During these especially hard times for our Latino brothers and 
sisters, when the anti-immigrant sentiment is at its highest, MALDEF 
has been fighting to challenge breaches in voting rights, workplace 
discrimination, access to justice, and educational access. In 2006, 
MALDEF went before the U.S. Supreme Court and successfully challenged a 
congressional redistricting plan that discriminated against Latino 
voters in Texas. Most recently, MALDEF won a case that will require the 
Texas Education Agency to fix the State's English Language Learner, 
ELL, programs in secondary schools and restore educational equity for 
our Latino students.
  I commend the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund for 
their 40-year commitment to the Hispanic community. Their record of 
legal representation, advocacy, and educational outreach has 
indisputably improved the quality of life and opportunities of all 
Latinos in the U.S. It is through the hard work of organizations like 
MALDEF that we will be able to overcome social and economic 
inequalities faced by Americans of different ethnic and racial 
backgrounds.

                          ____________________