Dean Johnson Attends MALDEF Board Meeting Selecting Saenz as New President
Dean Kevin R. Johnson, a member of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) Board of Directors, attended the organization's board meeting in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico last week and helped to select Thomas A. Saenz, counsel to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, as MALDEF's new president and general counsel.
Saenz was part of a controversy earlier this year, when President Obama reportedly offered him the opportunity to head of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, then rescinded the offer and appointed Maryland Secretary of Labor Tom Perez. Many viewed the move as a political consequence of Saenz's activities on behalf of undocumented immigrants, which include his successful legal challenge to California's Proposition 187. Dean Johnson has written about the controversy and Saenz's appointment on his ImmigrationProf blog.
Kevin R. Johnson is dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies at UC Davis School of Law. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.