Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)

The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) is a left-wing litigation and advocacy group focused on immigration, election procedure, and Census and demographic interest issues. Founded in the late 1960s with extensive financial support from the left-of-center Ford Foundation, MALDEF is notable for its involvement in the creation of the “Hispanic/Latino” ethnic category in Census enumeration 1 and its advocacy for expanded immigration. 2 In addition to the Ford Foundation, MALDEF receives substantial support from the corporate foundation of Anheuser-Busch and liberal foundations including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and the California Endowment. 3

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Ideological Alignment: Left of Center
Issue Areas: Multi-Issue Advocacy
Website: www.maldef.org
Formation:

1967

President and General Counsel:

Thomas Saenz

Location: Los Angeles, CA View on map
Tax ID: 74-1563270
Most Recent Filing: 2025
Budget (2025): Assets: $21,349,231 Revenue: $7,275,973 Expenses: $9,294,933

Contents

    MALDEF has close ties to Democratic politicians, with a number of MALDEF alumni taking senior roles or being nominated to high-level positions in Democratic administrations at the federal, state, and local levels. During the Obama administration, it was alleged that the Justice Department preferentially hired attorneys for its voting section from left-of-center ideological groups, including MALDEF. 4

    The organization has staked out a position on the far end of the expansionist side of the immigration debate. During the debate over the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, MALDEF was criticized by immigrants and other advocacy groups for taking an uncompromising position and opposing passage of the bill, which normalized the status of an estimated 2.7 million unauthorized immigrants, because the legislation included border security and employment verification measures. 5 The positioning reportedly cost MALDEF influence over federal legislation. 2

    MALDEF continues to operate in the legal arena and lobby the U.S. Congress. The organization lobbied against the nomination of Jeff Sessions, a prominent immigration restrictionist, to serve as Attorney General; 6 sued to protect the privileges of cities that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities; 7 and opposed efforts by the Trump administration to ask about the citizenship status of Census respondents. 8

    Early History

    In the late 1960s, the Ford Foundation, then the largest private foundation in the United States, began to shift focus from direct aid to individual needs toward grantmaking toward liberal public policy activities under the direction of its then-president, McGeorge Bundy, a former aide to Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. From 1966 through 1969, the Ford Foundation established a number of public-interest litigation organizations, including the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Women’s Law Center, and Earthjustice. In 1967, Ford Foundation support established the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, better known as MALDEF. 9

    Pedro Tijerina, a Texas attorney, secured a $2.2 million contribution from the Ford Foundation and assistance from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to create a nonprofit litigation outfit focusing on the interests of Mexican Americans, which would become MALDEF. 10 Tijerina brought on Mario Obledo to work as general counsel of the new MALDEF. The organization handled a number of civil rights cases, including efforts to secure Mexican-American representation on civil and criminal juries and expand public accommodation nondiscrimination protections to Mexican Americans. 11

    During its first few years of operations, MALDEF struggled to engage in constitutionally challenging work as it “was inundated with routine legal-aid cases that could be resolved outside the courts.” MALDEF also had issues with “militant” personnel, who caused the Ford Foundation to recommend that MALDEF shift its headquarters from San Antonio to San Francisco and replace its executive director. MALDEF first made precedent challenging breakthroughs when working on racial discrimination cases transferred from the NAACP. 12

    Voting Policy Activism

    Expansion of Voting Rights Act to Hispanics

    MALDEF led efforts to extend the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), which guaranteed African American voting rights to Spanish-speaking Americans; in 1975, the U.S. Congress passed legislation to that effect. 13 Since the expansion of the VRA, MALDEF has led litigation against local election procedures, challenging the election of city councils by citywide races rather than districts gerrymandered to elect a councilor of a particular ethnicity. MALDEF lobbying also secured provisions in the amended VRA that required the issuance of ballot papers in languages other than English in certain counties. 14

    Opposition to California Districting Reform

    MALDEF has opposed efforts in California that placed responsibility for drawing legislative and Congressional districts in the hands of a bipartisan commission. In 2005, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) proposed a ballot measure that would have placed redistricting in the hands of a panel of former state judges; MALDEF sued to block the proposal. 15

    After the 2005 proposal failed, a 2008 ballot measure opposed by MALDEF instituted a bipartisan redistricting commission for state legislative districts. 16 After a 2010 measure extended its remit to draw districts for the U.S. Congress, MALDEF threatened to challenge the ensuing district lines for not gerrymandering a sufficient number of liberal-Hispanic-controlled districts. 17

    Apportionment

    MALDEF has opposed efforts to apportion state legislative districts based on the voter population rather than the general population, which includes citizens ineligible to vote due to age or felony conviction and non-citizens categorically ineligible to vote. In response to a 2015 challenge to Texas’s practice of apportionment based on general population, MALDEF characterized the challengers as “purveyors of apartheid” in a statement. 18

    People associated with MALDEF have endorsed granting voting privileges to noncitizens in a private capacity. In 2003, former MALDEF president and general counsel Joaquin Avila published a legal article calling for an amendment to the California state constitution granting non-citizens voting privileges in local elections. 19

    Working with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)

    In 2024, it was reported by the Heritage Foundation-associated Oversight Project that MALDEF was one of several activist organizations cooperating with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to implement Executive Order 14019 “Promoting Access to Voting,” issued by President Joe Biden, in order to increase access to voting as well as get-out-the-vote (GOTV) initiatives. The plan included planned social media posts on key voting engagement dates, partnering with activist groups to develop content for said posts, and planning volunteer service training for USTR employees. Other activist groups involved include the Brennan Center for Justice and Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC). 20

    Challenging Anti-Solicitation Laws

    In 2004, MALDEF filed a lawsuit against the City of Redondo Beach, California, for enforcing anti-solicitation ordinances, primarily against Latino immigrants looking for work. After a judge ruled in MALDEF’s favor, the group joined a larger lawsuit led by a group of nonprofits to fight anti-solicitation laws in the State of California and Los Angeles. In 2006, MALDEF won its major case in Los Angeles, and allegedly created a template for challenging anti-solicitation laws across the United States. The Los Angeles case was appealed to federal courts, which refused to hear it, thereby making the lower court ruling stand. 21

    Anti-Discrimination

    In 2003, MALDEF filed a class action lawsuit against clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch for alleged racial discrimination in its hiring practices against racial minorities and women. In 2004, Abercrombie & Fitch settled the suit for $40 million and a promise to restructure its hiring practices. 22

    Immigration

    MALDEF has been a staunch advocate for liberal immigration policies since its creation. The group’s radical opposition to concessions on border security reportedly threatened compromises negotiated to pass the 1986 immigration reform bill, reportedly costing MALDEF future legislative influence. 23 The group continues active litigation efforts against efforts to enforce immigration laws, 7 and it lobbied the federal government against the appointment of immigration restrictionist Jeff Sessions to serve as United States Attorney General in the first Trump administration. 6

    In 2024, MALDEF sued a Central California credit union for “unlawfully denying a loan to a DACA recipient on the basis of her immigration status.” 24 According to MALDEF, this lawsuit marked the tenth time it had filed a challenge to polices related to DACA recipients and financial institutions since 2017. 24 It filed a similar class-action lawsuit in 2023 alleging financial discrimination against a DACA recipient from an Oregon credit union. The lawsuit was ongoing as of February 2024. 25

    According to the Washington Examiner, in July 2021 the Biden White House hosted a videoconference call with which included at least one MALDEF representative, along with several other left-of-center voter advocacy groups to discuss increasing voter registration within the United States. Topics discussed on the call included “registering illegal immigrants and integrating voter registration into public housing as a requirement under federal law.” 26 Notes on the meeting were provided by the Washington Examiner through the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) and the Heritage Foundation-associated Oversight Project. Other groups involved in the call included the Open Society Policy Center, End Citizens United, Demos, the League of Women Voters, and the Sentencing Project. 26

    Legal Status for Illegal Immigrants

    MALDEF is one of the leading advocates for the granting of legal status to remain in the country to illegally present immigrants. MALDEF reportedly faced criticism from pro-immigration advocates in the late 1980s for risking an effort to legalize a number of illegal immigrants in exchange for moderate concessions on enforcement by opposing legislation that would later become the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. 27

    Since the 1980s, MALDEF has filed a number of lawsuits to secure legal status for illegal immigrants. In 2016, MALDEF general counsel Thomas Saenz argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in defense of the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) executive actions, 28 which intended to grant legal status to the illegal immigrant parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (DAPA was enjoined by federal courts before taking effect and rescinded by the Trump administration). 29

    In 2018, MALDEF sued Procter and Gamble and Allied Wealth for allegedly refusing to hire workers who had received deferred action from removal under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program started under the Obama administration and placed in legal limbo after attempts by the Trump administration to suspend it. 30

    Public School Funding

    In 1975, Texas enacted a law allowing school districts to charge tuition for illegal immigrant public schoolchildren. MALDEF led the legal challenges to that law, which were ultimately successful in a 1982 United States Supreme Court decision titled Plyler v. Doe, which held that the Texas law was unconstitutional. 31 California would later attempt to overturn the effect of the decision by a state constitutional amendment known as Proposition 187, which also included a provision requiring localities to affirmatively assist immigration enforcement; MALDEF hailed a federal judicial decision overturning the measure. 32

    MALDEF has also pressed for judicial intervention in state-level school funding debates. MALDEF led an effort to see the Supreme Court overturn Texas’s school financing laws. A 1973 effort failed at the federal Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court of Texas would later rule in MALDEF’s favor in 1989. 33

    Opposition to Immigration Enforcement

    In 2006, MALDEF joined with other left-of-center immigration and Hispanic-interest groups to protest the efforts of the George W. Bush administration to engage in workplace-level enforcement actions. Spokespersons for some of the groups explicitly compared workplace enforcement actions to crimes against humanity committed by Nazi Germany. 34

    After the Trump administration announced an intention to focus on removing violent felons from the country, MALDEF president and general counsel Thomas Saenz condemned the effort. Saenz instead encouraged keeping them in jail in the United States to “try to rehabilitate” them. 35

    MALDEF has also proven a notable defender of so-called “sanctuary cities,” local jurisdictions  that do not cooperate with federal immigration law enforcement. Despite opposing efforts by right-leaning states like Arizona to enact immigration enforcement rules stricter than federal requirements on the grounds that the country needs “one uniform nationwide policy (on immigration penalties),” MALDEF has supported efforts by cities to refuse to assist enforcement of immigration laws. 36 In 2017, MALDEF led a lawsuit against a Texas law that would require local police to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. 37

    In 2010, MALDEF joined the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center in filing a complaint against SB 1070, an Arizona law that required police to check the immigration status of any individuals with a reasonable suspicion. MALDEF and the other groups argued that the law constituted racial profiling and violated the 14th Amendment. 38

    In 2024, MALDEF and the National Immigration Law Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of La Union del Pueblo Entero and four Texans against the State of Texas to challenge SB 4, which permits state and local law enforcement and judges to arrest and order the deportation of illegal immigrants. The lawsuit argued that the law illegally took for the state powers reserved to the federal government and violated the Fourth, Eighth, and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. 39

    Also in 2024, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) filed a suit to shut down pro-immigrant nonprofit FIEL for allegedly violating rules that govern its nonprofit status. MALDEF intervened to support the defendant, arguing that Attorney General Paxton lacked the authority to bring the lawsuit. FIEL claimed it was targeted for supporting immigrants through education and poverty relief programs. 40

    Second Trump Administration

    During the second Trump administration, MALDEF focused its efforts on combatting the immigration enforcement efforts of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and aligned Republican-controlled states. MALDEF has supported lawsuits by numerous individuals against ICE and other federal agencies for alleged mistreatment. For instance, in July 2025, MALDEF filed a lawsuit against ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on behalf of a man who was detained by ICE while filming an ICE raid in a Home Depot parking lot. The individual claimed that he was assaulted and mistreated, and demanded $1 million in damages. 41

    In May 2026, MALDEF sued ICE and CBP on behalf of three sisters for $2.5 million. MALDEF claims that ICE used the youngest sister as “bait” to catch the older sisters, and that the federal agency unlawfully detained and assaulted all three individuals, causing physical and emotional harm. 42

    In May 2025, numerous financial institutions, including One Nevada Credit Union and Kinecta Federal Credit Union, announced a settlement in a lawsuit by MALDEF representing a group of DACA recipients who alleged they were being discriminated against by having services denied to them on the ground of their immigration statuses. Each of the 28 plaintiffs received $2,000 in settlements. 43

    MALDEF co-sponsored SB 627, a California bill that passed in September 2025 which prohibits “extreme masking” by law enforcement. The bill was targeted at ICE agents who were using masks to conceal their identities during the second Trump administration. 44

    California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance

    In addition to its lobbying, litigation, and advocacy on immigration issues, MALDEF also sponsors the California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance (CIYJA). CIYJA has, like MALDEF, taken a militant approach to seeking legal status for all illegal immigrants in the state; the group has disrupted events held by former U.S. House Democratic Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to demand no tightening of border security in exchange for legal status and a path to citizenship for illegally present immigrants. 45

    In 2015, Borealis Philanthropy made a $107,000 grant to MALDEF “to support the work of CIYJA.” 46

    Ethnic Preferences

    MALDEF has advocated for and litigated in favor of affirmative action policies to favor Hispanics. MALDEF activists were involved in in-school presentations opposing California Proposition 209 (the California Civil Rights Initiative), which substantially restricted the use of non-merit preferences by the state. 47

    The group has continued to support litigation against efforts to restrict the use of racial preferences in university admissions. MALDEF filed a brief in support of the affirmative action policies of the University of Texas at Austin 48 and hailed a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed the University’s affirmative action policy to stand. 49 When the Trump administration rescinded Obama administration guidance encouraging the use of racial and ethnic preferences, MALDEF issued a statement denouncing the move as pandering to neo-Nazi extremists. 50

    Census Activism

    MALDEF has been deeply involved in developing the Census procedures and questions concerning racial and ethnic identification and manipulating those questions to maximize the political power of MALDEF and its allies. The development of “Hispanic” as a distinct ethnicity in federal statistics dates to the 1970 Census period, when the Nixon administration asked about Hispanic identification on the partially circulated “long form” questionnaire. MALDEF later pressured the Carter administration to add a question asking about Hispanic ethnicity on the main Census response form for the 1980 United States Census, which it did. Reclassifying Hispanics as a distinct statistical category opened the way for ethnic gerrymandering and gave MALDEF and other advocacy groups the ability to seek more federal funding for the interests of the ethnic groups for which they spoke. 51

    In 2010, MALDEF led an advocacy campaign encouraging responses to the Census taken that year; the left-of-center Public Welfare Foundation had provided a $200,000 grant to the organization for “support for outreach for the 2010 Census.” 52 In commentary, MALDEF officials noted the relation between higher Census response rates and increased federal expenditures. 53 The organization encouraged Hispanic respondents to classify their race as “Other” in the hope that the Census would classify Hispanics as a distinct “race” in future Censuses. 54 In anticipation of the 2020 Census, the Obama administration made preparations to do so; 55 the move was reversed after the election of President Donald Trump. 56

    When the Trump administration proposed a question on the main 2020 Census form asking respondents about their U.S. citizenship status, MALDEF and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC filed suit to block the question. 57 MALDEF’s president accused President Trump of “doing his best to whitewash Latinos out of existence” by placing the citizenship question on the short-form Census rather than the long-form. 58

    Criticism

    In “The Politics of Patronage: Lawyers, Philanthropy and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, 1967-2000,” author Benjamin Marquez questioned the connection between MALDEF and its Latino constituents. Marquez pointed out that MALDEF, and similar race-based legal advocacy groups financed by the Ford Foundation, were created to represent supposed ethnic communities, but they were established and financed by large institutional nonprofits that directed their priorities. While well-meaning, these large nonprofits were not necessarily aligned with racial minority communities, thereby creating a lack of accountability for MALDEF and similar groups with the communities they are meant to represent. 59

    Finances

    MALDEF receives a substantial portion of its contribution revenue from organized left-wing interests, most prominently the Ford Foundation. The Ford Foundation was instrumental in the foundation of MALDEF; in 2000, the Ford Foundation gave MALDEF the largest identified contribution it has ever received, of $6.78 million. 60 From 2010 through 2015, the Ford Foundation provided MALDEF with $8.9 million in total grants. 52

    MALDEF has also taken funding from other major left-wing foundations. In 2014, the Carnegie Corporation of New York provided MALDEF with a $1 million grant directed to MALDEF’s “voting rights litigation working group. 61 In 2012, the Foundation to Support Open Society controlled by left-of-center mega-donor George Soros provided MALDEF with $250,000 in “support for its Texas redistricting activities” among other programs. 62 Left-wing pass-through entity NEO Philanthropy made contributions of $650,000 to MALDEF in 2015 63 and $1.2 million in 2014. 64

    The organization has also taken substantial funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Marguerite Casey Foundation, the Public Welfare Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the California Endowment, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, and the Arcus Foundation. The corporate foundation of the oil company BP America also provided MALDEF with $500,000 in 2009, and the corporate foundation of Anheuser-Busch provided substantial support to MALDEF in 2009 and 2010. 52

    MALDEF has received funds from other organized left-wing interests: The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) United Healthcare Workers-West provided MALDEF with $40,000 in 2017, 65 the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) provided $7,500 in that year, 66 and the National Education Association provided $15,000 in 2016. 67

    MALDEF itself has funded a number of organizations involved in ideological outreach to and political activation of left-leaning Hispanics as part of a “foundation grant to advance national Latino political empowerment.” 68 Organizational recipients of MALDEF grants include the labor-union-aligned Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, and the pro-abortion Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. 69

    People

    Thomas Saenz

    As of June 2026, Thomas Saenz worked as president and general counsel of MALDEF. Prior to taking the position in 2009, Saenz served in the administration of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D); the Los Angeles Times called Saenz one of Villaraigosa’s “closest advisors.” He had worked as a staff lawyer for MALDEF before joining the Villaraigosa administration in 2005. 70 In 2009, President Barack Obama reportedly considered appointing Saenz to a Justice Department post, but he withdrew from consideration amid concern he would be seen as too friendly to illegal immigrants. 71 Former California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) also considered Saenz for a seat on the California Supreme Court. 72

    Alumni in Democratic Administrations

    MALDEF has seen a number of its staff and senior officials chosen to serve in Democratic administrations at the federal, state, and local levels. Former MALDEF attorney Norma Cantu headed the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights during the Clinton administration. Then-MALDEF president John Trasvina was appointed to head the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity division; previously, Trasvina had served in the Clinton administration after working for MALDEF as a staff lawyer and later as a Democratic Party Congressional staffer. 73 Right-leaning critics additionally alleged that the Obama administration Justice Department hired Voting Division staff lawyers exclusively from left-of-center and Democratic backgrounds; MALDEF was reportedly a source of a number of attorneys. 74

    Sub-national Democratic administrations also poach staffers and officers from MALDEF: MALDEF’s controversial founding general counsel, Mario Obledo, was appointed Secretary of Health and Welfare in the first administration of Gov. Jerry Brown (D-CA). 75 Liberal municipal administrations also use MALDEF as a talent pool: former San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg (D), who ran as a staunch liberal with the support of former Obama administration Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, hired a MALDEF attorney as his policy chief. 76

    Despite its functioning as a pipeline for Democratic and left-of-center governments, MALDEF still pretends to non-ideological positioning: In a 2007 hearing, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) objected to a George W. Bush administration official characterizing MALDEF as a left-of-center organization. 77

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2025 $21,349,231 $7,275,973 $9,294,933 View
    2024 $24,675,445 $7,321,161 $9,196,575 View
    2023 $24,721,793 $11,598,841 $9,365,937 View
    2022 $25,844,457 $10,363,257 $8,874,079 View
    2021 $22,369,424 $9,263,425 $7,843,850 View
    2020 $23,440,757 $9,026,407 $8,636,675 View

    Prior year filings: 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

    Revenue Detail

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    • Number of Employees: 75

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    Thomas A SaenzPRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL$507,336
    Nina PeralesVICE PRESIDENT OF LITIGATION$269,621
    Shelley MallchokVICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE/CFO$256,414
    Gina MontoyaVICE PRESIDENT OF DEVELOPMENT$247,534
    Sandra HernandezVP OF COMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA$206,491
    Andrea SentenoREGIONAL COUNSEL: DC$156,765
    Ernest HerreraREGIONAL COUNSEL: WESTERN REGION$147,468

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $104,929,077
    • Number of Grants: 880
    • Number of Funders: 230

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $3,857,5842020 NEO PhilanthropyProgram Grant
    $3,600,0002021 NEO PhilanthropyProgram Grant
    $2,000,0002024 The Ahmanson FoundationToward replacement of the HVAC system at the Los Angeles headquarters
    $2,000,0002022 Carnegie Corporation of New York
    $2,000,0002020 Carnegie Corporation of New YorkFor support of the Voting Rights Litigation Working Group
    $2,000,0002020 The Ford FoundationGeneral support to advance the civil rights of all Latinos and immigrants living in the U.S. Through litigation, public policy education and advocacy, community education, and communications/media to increase access, integration, and success.
    $1,166,7002024 Carnegie Corporation of New YorkFor core support of the Voting Rights Litigation Working Group
    $1,000,0002025 The Ford FoundationTie off general support to advance the civil rights of all Latinos and immigrants living in the U.S. through litigation, public policy education and advocacy, community education, and communications/media to increase access, integration, and success
    $1,000,0002023 Jerome L Greene FoundationFURTHER 501(C)(3) CHARITABLE PURPOSE
    $1,000,0002022 The Everett B and Patti Birch Foundation C/o Eisner Advisory Group LLCGENERAL
    $750,0002024 Freedom Together FoundationADVANCING VOTING RIGHTS AND IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION
    $750,0002024 Adobe FoundationGeneral & Unrestricted
    $750,0002023 Freedom Together FoundationADVANCING VOTING RIGHTS AND IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION
    $750,0002022 Freedom Together FoundationADVANCING VOTING RIGHTS AND IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION
    $700,2502023 National Philanthropic TrustPUBLIC, SOCIETAL BENEFIT
    $605,0002024 National Philanthropic TrustCULTURE & ARTS
    $597,0362024 Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Aajc IncVOTING RIGHTS
    $525,0002021 New Venture FundCIVIL RIGHTS, SOCIAL ACTION, ADVOCACY
    $500,0002024 W.K. Kellogg Foundationprovide general operating support to help the organization achieve its mission of protecting and defending the rights of all Latinos living in the United States and the constitutional rights of all Americans
    $500,0002024 Jerome L Greene FoundationFURTHER 501(C)(3) CHARITABLE PURPOSE
    $500,0002024 Wellspring Philanthropic FundADVANCING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
    $500,0002023 Wellspring Philanthropic FundLEGAL ADVOCACY FOR VOTING RIGHTS
    $500,0002022 Adobe FoundationGeneral support and participation in EAI cohort activities
    $500,0002021 Adobe FoundationGeneral & Unrestricted
    $500,0002020 The California EndowmentTo provide general operating support to an organization that protects immigrant health and human rights in California by providing impact litigation, legal advocacy and know-your-rights education on immigration.

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $302,887
    • Number of Grants: 13
    • Number of Recipients: 12

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $150,0002020 Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under LawCENSUS PROJECT
    $14,7452021 National Day Laborer Organizing NetORGANIZATIONAL CONTRIBUTION
    $8,0002020 California Common Cause for EducationREDISTRICTING REFORM PROJECT
    $8,0002020 State VoicesREDISTRICTING REFORM PROJECT
    $1,0002021 Somos Familia ValleVIRTUAL SPONSORSHIP

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

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    18. “FEDERAL COURT REJECTS LATEST ATTEMPT TO CREATE DIFFERENT CLASSES OF CONSTITUENTS THROUGH EXCLUSIONARY REDISTRICTING.” MALDEF. Accessed July 09, 2018. http://www.maldef.org/news/releases/fed_court_rejects_attempt_to_create_diff_classes_through_exclusionary_redistricting/.
    19. “Civil Rights Lawyer Joaquin Avila Dead at 69.” Spokesman.com. March 12, 2018. Accessed July 09, 2018. http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/mar/12/civil-rights-lawyer-joaquin-avila-dead-at-69/.
    20. Lucas, Fred. “EXCLUSIVE: Here Are the Left-Wing Groups the White House Trade Office Is Scheming With to Get Out the Vote.” The Daily Signal, March 10, 2024. https://www.dailysignal.com/2024/03/10/exclusive-biden-trade-agency-plans-partnership-with-liberal-legal-groups-to-turn-out-vote/
    21. “The Legal Fight to Protect The First Amendment Right of Day Laborers.” MALDEF. December 13, 2021. Accessed June 17, 2026. https://www.maldef.org/2021/12/the-legal-fight-to-protect-the-first-amendment-right-of-day-laborers/.
    22. “CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS CHALLENGED ABERCROMBIE & FITCH’S UNLAWFUL HIRING TACTICS ON BEHALF OF LATINO, BLACK AND ASIAN AMERICAN YOUTH.” MALDEF. Accessed June 17, 2026. https://www.maldef.org/2022/04/civil-rights-organizations-challenged-abercrombie-fitchs-unlawful-hiring-tactics-on-behalf-of-latino-black-and-asian-american-youth/.
    23. Skerry, Peter. “Comprehensive Immigration Confusion.” National Affairs. Fall 2016. Accessed July 09, 2018. https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/comprehensive-immigration-confusion.
    24. “Maldef Sues Credit Union for Discriminatory Lending.” MALDEF, January 9, 2024. https://www.maldef.org/2024/01/maldef-sues-credit-union-for-discriminatory-lending/.
    25. “Maldef Sues Oregon Credit Union for Discriminatory Lending Practices.” MALDEF, December 29, 2023. https://www.maldef.org/2023/12/maldef-sues-oregon-credit-union-for-discriminatory-lending-practices/.
    26. Kaminsky, Gabe. “Biden voter registration meeting raises eyebrows on Capitol Hill: ‘Election interference.’” The Washington Examiner, May 7, 2024. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/2992655/biden-voter-registration-meeting-capitol-hill-election-interference/
    27. Skerry, Peter. “No Kidding: Republicans, Democrats and Illegal Immigrants.” Brookings. August 03, 2013. Accessed July 09, 2018. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/no-kidding-republicans-democrats-and-illegal-immigrants/.  
    28. “United States v. Texas.” SCOTUSblog. Accessed July 10, 2018. http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/united-states-v-texas/.
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    30. Reyes, Raul A. “MALDEF Files Lawsuits, Alleging Discrimination Based on DACA Status.” NBCNews.com. May 4, 2018. Accessed July 10, 2018. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/maldef-files-lawsuits-alleging-discrimination-based-daca-status-n866321.
    31. Olivas, Michael A. “Plyler v. Doe: Still Guaranteeing Unauthorized Immigrant Children’s Right to Attend U.S. Public Schools.” Migrationpolicy.org. March 02, 2017. Accessed July 09, 2018. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/plyler-v-doe-still-guaranteeing-unauthorized-immigrant-childrens-right-attend-us-public.
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    34. Forsyth, Jim. “Hispanic Groups Call for Moratorium on Work Raids.” The Washington Post. December 21, 2006. Accessed July 09, 2018. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/21/AR2006122101128.html?noredirect=on.
    35. DeVoss, David. “This Land Is Their Land.” The Weekly Standard. February 03, 2017. Accessed July 09, 2018. https://www.weeklystandard.com/david-devoss/this-land-is-their-land.
    36.  Egelko, Bob. “Group’s Leader Urges New Strategy on Immigrant Rights.” SFGate. November 27, 2009. Accessed July 09, 2018. https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Group-s-leader-urges-new-strategy-on-immigrant-3280347.php.
    37. Harrison, Greg. “City of San Antonio Joins MALDEF Suit Against SB 4 – Texas Scorecard.” Empower Texans. June 07, 2017. Accessed July 09, 2018. https://empowertexans.com/central-texas/city-san-antonio-joins-maldef-suit-sb-4/.
    38. Bergeron, Claire; Chisti, Muzaffar. “Focus Remains on Arizona as Justice Department Files Lawsuit against SB 1070.” Migration Policy Institute. July 15, 2020. Accessed June 17, 2026. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/focus-remains-arizona-justice-department-files-lawsuit-against-sb-1070.
    39. “Immigrant Texans and Border Organization Sue to Block Extremist Anti-Immigrant State Law.” National Immigration Law Center. March 12, 2024. Accessed June 17, 2026. https://www.nilc.org/press/immigrant-texans-and-border-organization-sue-to-block-extremist-anti-immigrant-state-law/.
    40. Calin, Tim; Cobler, Paul. “Harris County judge rejects Paxton attempt to shut down Houston immigrant rights group FIEL.” Houston Landing. August 23, 2024. Accessed June 17, 2026. https://www.houstonlanding.org/harris-county-judge-rejects-paxton-attempt-to-shut-down-houston-immigrant-rights-group-fiel/.
    41. “MALDEF TAKES A STEP TOWARD CIVIL RIGHTS LAWSUIT ON BEHALF OF U.S. CITIZEN DETAINED BY ICE.” MALDEF. July 2, 2025. Accessed June 17, 2026. https://www.maldef.org/2025/07/maldef-takes-a-step-toward-civil-rights-lawsuit-on-behalf-of-u-s-citizen-detained-by-ice/.
    42. “MALDEF TAKES STEP TOWARD CIVIL RIGHTS LAWSUIT ON BEHALF OF THREE U.S. CITIZEN SIBLINGS DETAINED BY ICE.” MALDEF. May 1, 2026. Accessed June 17, 2026. https://www.maldef.org/2026/05/maldef-takes-step-toward-civil-rights-lawsuit-on-behalf-of-three-u-s-citizen-siblings-detained-by-ice/.
    43. “JUDGE GRANTS FINAL APPROVAL OF CLASS-ACTION SETTLEMENT IN DISCRIMINATORY-LENDING LAWSUIT.” MALDEF. MALDEF. May 28, 2025. Accessed June 17, 2026. https://www.maldef.org/2025/05/judge-grants-final-approval-of-class-action-settlement-in-discriminatory-lending-lawsuit/.
    44. “CALIFORNIA GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM SIGNS BILL BANNING EXTREME MASKING BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.” MALDEF. September 20, 2025. Accessed June 17, 2026. https://www.maldef.org/2025/09/california-gov-gavin-newsom-signs-bill-banning-extreme-masking-by-law-enforcement/.
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    49. Ball, Molly. “The Supreme Court’s Pleasant Surprise for Affirmative-Action Advocates.” The Atlantic. June 24, 2013. Accessed July 10, 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/06/the-supreme-courts-pleasant-surprise-for-affirmative-action-advocates/277168/.
    50. “MALDEF STATEMENT ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S ROLLBACK OF FEDERAL POLICY GUIDANCE ON CAMPUS DIVERSITY.” MALDEF. July 3, 2018. Accessed July 10, 2018. http://www.maldef.org/news/releases/2018_07_03_MALDEF_Statement_on_Trump_Administrations_Rollback_of_Federal_Policy_Guidance_on_Campus_Diversity/.
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    52. Data compiled from FoundationSearch.com subscription service, a project of Metasoft Systems, Inc. from forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Queries conducted July 11, 2018.
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