CASA’s longtime executive director Gustavo Torres plans to retire in November.
Torres began his work as an advocate with the immigrant rights group when it started out in a church basement in Takoma Park. Now, 34 years later, CASA is an organization with more than 170,000 members in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania — and in Atlanta, where it opened a welcome center in Atlanta in 2022.
In a statement Friday, Torres said he wants to take a break and spend his time with family, to “give the same love, attention, and presence to the people who’ve stood by me through it all.”
“I look around me and see a new generation of leaders that are ready to take the helm, and I am confident that CASA is strong, rooted, and ready for what’s next,” his statement said. “These powerful, young, diverse Black and brown leaders in our organization are going to move forward with the same boldness these next 30 years.”
The organization has become an authoritative voice on migrant issues and immigration legislation at the local, state and national levels over the years. It did face controversy in November 2023, after some members issued statements and social media posts expressing solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza that began Oct. 7 of that year.
It led some lawmakers, including Montgomery County’s Senate delegation to publicly scrutinize CASA and threatened to pull public funding. Private donors also announced they would withdraw funding. CASA released a public apology from Torres in response.
The organization has been busy this year. Even before President Donald Trump’s (R) January swearing in, CASA held “Know Your Rights” events to prepare for possible enforcement actions from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
CASA leaders were in Annapolis lobbying for legislation, including one to prohibit local police from entering into 287(g) agreements with ICE. On the last day of the legislative session in April, lawmakers passed a watered-down version of a bill that does not include the 287(g) ban, the biggest loss for immigration. advocates this year.
CASA plans a nationwide search for someone to build on Torres’ “unshakeable legacy, carrying forward CASA’s mission to build people power, advance equity, and drive lasting systemic change,” said Melissa Guzman, the organization’s chief operating officer. “We invite visionary leaders from inside CASA and across the country to apply and help shape the next chapter of this movement.”
Torres will be honored at CASA’s 40th anniversary celebration on Sept. 18.
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