Immigration is a fraught issue, and in recent years dozens of groups have sprung up to advocate for one position or the other, to lobby Congress, to fund candidates, or to fight it out in the courts. With all the vague or patriotic-sounding names, it can get pretty confusing. You might see spokespeople from these organizations quoted as experts in news articles, but sometimes reporters fail to identify a group’s position. This weekly feature will help you become a savvier consumer of immigration news.

This week’s organization, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, has been involved in a number of immigration lawsuits, litigating and advocating for Mexican immigrants and other Latinos.

Name: Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, or MALDEF. Founded in 1968 in San Antonio, Tex. It is now headquartered in Los Angeles.

Stance: Pro-immigrant. MALDEF opposes increased restrictions on immigration and supports extending rights for illegal immigrants. It actively opposes English-only laws.

Activities: MALDEF has had a hand on many major legal cases, including the case that struck down most of California’s Proposition 187. News 21 previously reported on MALDEF’s unsuccessful case against Arizona’s Proposition 200 and its victory against Farmers Branch, Tex. MALDEF also educates Latino voters about their rights and how to exercise them and encourages Latinos to get involved in politics and policy, and it helped to organize rallies after the murder of Luis Ramirez in Shenandoah, Pa.

Funding: MALDEF has a budget of about $6.5 million. Its funding comes from private donors and foundations—the Ford Foundation was a major donor in the early years—as well as unions and corporations (PDF; scroll down).

Major Players: MALDEF has 22 lawyers who litigate around the country. John Trasviña, MALDEF’s current president and general counsel, has testified before Congress in support of expanding the Voting Rights Act and in opposition to English as an official language. Lawyer Nina Perales fought Arizona’s Prop 200.

Controversy: MALDEF is frequently accused by anti-immigration groups of being a racial supremacist organization, because it works on behalf of a specific ethnic group. It is also unabashedly in favor of extending rights to illegal immigrants, which has drawn the criticism of many on the right.