Marta Laureano

Martha Laureano is a Mexican-American woman from Amarillo, Texas, who was ordered by a court to speak English to her daughter.

In the course of a routine custody-case, Laureno's ex-husband complained that their daughter did not get sufficient exposure to English since the mother spoke only Spanish at home; this, according to the father, put the child at a disadvantage once she would start school. The judge agreed, saying that the mother was "abusing that child and [...] relegating her to the position of a housemaid." He later apologized for his word choice, but stood by his ruling which compelled the mother to speak English in addition to Spanish to her child.