CASA of Maryland, Inc.

CASA started in 1985 in a church basement in response to the urgent needs of newly arrived Central American refugees. From that beginning, we have become a multi-cultural membership organization providing services and taking action with thousands of members across the state. Today, CASA occupies a rare space as a truly grassroots organization that directly addresses human needs and influences the regional debate on immigrants and public policy.

OUR MISSION

To create a more just society by building power and improving the quality of life in low-income immigrant communities.

OUR VISION

A future with diverse and thriving communities living free from discrimination and fear, working together with mutual respect to achieve full human rights for all.

Youth

May 10, 2011 was a historic day for hundreds of Maryland immigrant students. After nearly 10 years of campaigning, Maryland’s DREAM Act (SB 167) – which provides immigrant youth with equal access to higher education – was signed into law. Though the bill was championed by two County Executives, university presidents, and faith and labor leaders, the victory truly belongs to the students.  They advocated delegates and senators to support the bill. And they recruited friends and neighbors to support their cause.

Who are these students? Yves came to the U.S. from India when he was one year old and graduated 17 years later in the top five percent of his high school class. José spent middle and high school working evenings and weekends to support himself and his family, while earning honor-roll grades. Jackie dreams of attending college to become a child psychologist.

English for Speakers of Other Languages

Cristina couldn’t read in Spanish when she first came to the U.S. from Guatemala. She didn’t understand English at all. Spanish was already her third language – after the indigenous Mayan languages of Mam and K’iche’. In Maryland, Cristina worked hard during the day doing maintenance work and attended CASA’s education programs at night – first a Spanish literacy program to learn read and write in a language she could speak, and then CASA’s English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes to learn English. After 3 years, she is now in level 4B, and she has her eyes set on her goal – to enroll in college and train to become a nurse, which she says would not be possible without CASA’s program.

Citizenship

Fleeing war-torn Liberia in 1999 and leaving her children was a heart-wrenching decision for Minty Davies.  She traveled to the U.S. as an asylee and worked for years to learn the skills she would need to be successful - including speaking and writing English, driving a car, and balancing a checkbook. When she became a U.S. citizen in April 2011, Minty knew that a new period in her life was beginning – one in which she would be able to vote, and unite her family. She credits CASA’s New Americans Citizenship Project of Maryland (NACPM) with making her dream of U.S. citizenship come true.

Welcome Centers

In December, Josué one of our members from our Baltimore Welcome Center, was hired by an employer  for general labor at his renovation company. The employer was so impressed by Josué's work ethics and dedication that he hired him for a permanent position.

This job has become a literal lifeline for Josué and his family. In April, Josué's wife prematurely gave birth to their first born. Thanks to the work that Josué found through CASA's Welcome Center, he was able to pay for all the additional medical expenses and he is now able to afford hiring help for his wife and his new baby boy.

Secure Communities

When Maria opened the door and saw the police on her doorstep, at first she was relieved. They had come in response to her call for help during a domestic dispute.  But instead of resolving the dispute, they arrested her on charges of operating a business without a license – charges that were later dropped. 

However, through a federal program called Secure Communities, upon her arrest, Maria’s fingerprints were passed along to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who put her in deportation proceedings.  CASA was successful in delaying Maria’s deportation, and over the past two years, she has a national spokesperson on the problems with Secure Communities. Though she lives in fear every day that she will be permanently separated from her three year-old U.S. citizen daughter, she continues to fight for justice.

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