CASA in Action is a left-of-center immigrant advocacy organization, operating mainly in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia in support of immigrants, regardless of their legal status in the United States. It is the political arm of CASA de Maryland and organizes for legislators and campaigns that support its objectives. It works alongside CASA’s other political organization, the CASA in Action PAC, which was founded in 2018. ¹

The majority of CASA in Action’s endorsed candidates for 2019 are those for local government positions, such as County Supervisor and City Council. ² It does, however, assist in larger races during their respective cycles, including those for Governor, Congress, and the Senate.

History

CASA in Action was founded in 2010 to give its sister organization, CASA de Maryland, direct influence over elections in the Mid-Atlantic Region. CASA de Maryland president Gustavo Torres assumed the role of president for CASA in Action, continuing to hold both titles as of August 2019.

Since its creation, CASA has endorsed left-of-center political candidates for every level of government in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

In 2016, CASA in Action most prominently endorsed Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Congressional candidate LuAnn Bennett (D-VA), actively organizing voters for them in its states of operation. ³ Both candidates lost.

CASA in Action was most active in 2018, endorsing and working with two gubernatorial campaigns, three U.S. Senate campaigns, and a large amount of State and U.S. House campaigns. ⁴ It was unsuccessful in the largest election of its home state, Maryland, as Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous lost to incumbent Republican Larry Hogan. ⁵

Present Activities

CASA in Action assists in campaigns that it endorses primarily through phone-banking and canvassing drives. Occasionally, it will organize drives for individual causes, such as in 2018 when it mobilized its volunteers to call and email Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) in support of scholarships for certain illegal immigrant students in Maryland public universities. ⁶

Criticism of Trump Administration

CASA in Action signed a letter condemning the immigration policy of the Trump Administration and urging American CEOs not to employ anyone involved with the policy. It accused these officials of being directly guilty for physical abuse, sexual assault, and even the death of illegal immigrant children. The letter was titled “An Open Letter to America’s CEOs” and was dated April 6, 2019. ⁷

Leadership

The President of CASA in Action is Gustavo Torres. Torres has faced significant criticism for his ties to far-left ideologies.

Torres and has told interviewers he fled his native Colombia for Nicaragua during the in 1987 to avoid political persecution. In Nicaragua he went to work for a newspaper that was friendly to the far-left Sandinista regime then in power. ⁸

In November 2007 he attended a conference in Venezuela, where the main event, according to the Militant, a newsweekly affiliated with the Socialist Workers Party in the United States, was a panel discussion entitled “United States: A possible revolution.” ⁹ The following year, Citgo Petroleum, an oil company owned by the socialist Venezuelan government, made a $1.5 million donation to CASA. ¹⁰

In 2009, the Socialist Worker reported Torres was the emcee of a May Day rally in Washington, D.C., sponsored by a coalition of organizations supporting legal status for immigrants working and living illegally in the United States. ¹¹

According to publicly available tax filings from 2016, Torres makes $1,320 a year from CASA in Action. The organization has three other paid employees: Chief Operating Officer Virginia Kase, Chief of Finance and Development Jennifer Freedman, and Chief of Politics and Communications Kimberly Propeack. ¹² They are all also paid and employed by CASA de Maryland.

Finances

The most recent publicly available financial information from CASA in Action is from 2018. It shows total revenues of $2,050,476 and total expenses of $1,938,105. ¹³ It also lists significant contributions from left-of-center organizations and unions, including the Democratic National Committee, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the Tides Foundation, Service Employees International Union, and the American Federation of Teachers.

1. “2018 CASA in Action Report.” Google Drive. Accessed August 09, 2019. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AqI7uSZFStFab_LAI8WU_egs3bVZ-Thk/view.
2. “CASA in Action in Virginia.” Casainaction. Accessed August 09, 2019. https://www.casainaction.org/virginia.; “CASA in Action in Pennsylvania.” Casainaction. Accessed August 09, 2019. https://www.casainaction.org/pennsylvania.
3. Alvarez, Priscilla. “Will Latinos Actually Turn Out for Clinton?” The Atlantic. November 03, 2016. Accessed August 09, 2019. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/hillary-clinton-latino-voters-2016/506387/.
4. “CASA in Action Endorses 2018 Maryland Candidates.” Casainaction. Accessed August 09, 2019. https://www.casainaction.org/01262018-maryland-endorsements. ; “2018 CASA in Action Report.” Google Drive. Accessed August 09, 2019. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AqI7uSZFStFab_LAI8WU_egs3bVZ-Thk/view.
5. Ng, Greg, and Kate Amara. “Gov. Larry Hogan Makes History with Re-election in Maryland.” WBAL. November 07, 2018. Accessed August 09, 2019. https://www.wbaltv.com/article/hogan-becomes-first-gop-governor-to-win-second-term-in-maryland-since-1954/24510818.
6. Torres, Gustavo. “VICTORY: DREAMERS Get Scholarships in MD.” Casainaction. May 30, 2018. Accessed August 09, 2019. https://www.casainaction.org/5-30-hb420-passed-dreamer-scholarsh.
7. “An Open Letter to America’s CEOs.” Restore Public Trust. April 6, 2019. https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2019/04/Restore-Public-Trust-Open-Letter-Asylum-04.2019.pdf
8. Montgomery, David. “A man with a plan.” Washington Post. July 14, 2011. Accessed January 19, 2011. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/a-man-with-a-plan/2011/06/14/gIQAY1qHEI_story.html?utm_term=.4e45de1e6b71&wpisrc=emailtoafriend
9. Newton, Olympia. ”Venezuela forum debates prospects for revolutionary change in U.S. ” The Militant. December 3, 2007. Accessed January 19, 2019. http://themilitant.com/2007/7145/714503.html
10. Lazo, Alejandro. ”Citgo Giving $1.5 Million to Maryland Charity.” The Washington Post. August 5, 2008. Accessed January 19, 2019. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/04/AR2008080401485.html
11. Schulte, Elizabeth. ”May Day rallies link struggles.” Socialist Worker. May 5, 2009. Accessed January 19, 2019. http://socialistworker.org/2009/05/05/may-day-rallies-link-struggles
12. Tigas, Mike, Sisi Wei, Ken Schwencke, and Alec Glassford. “Casa In Action, Form 990 – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. May 09, 2013. Accessed August 09, 2019. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/272145405/201831359349307538/IRS990.
13. “2018 CASA in Action Report.” Google Drive. Accessed August 09, 2019. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AqI7uSZFStFab_LAI8WU_egs3bVZ-Thk/view.