They have successfully promoted a wide range of legislation in support of the immigrant community, including a Maryland law that requires reasonable access to government services for people with limited English proficiency.
These centers, run by CASA on behalf of the county government under contract, provide central sites where contractors can pick up day-laborers.
[17][18] The centers allow day laborers to seek work without violating Gaithersburg's anti-solicitation ordinance, a law that makes it a misdemeanor to conduct hires in public places.
[citation needed] CASA received $1.5 million from CITGO, the state-owned Venezuelan petroleum products corporation, in 2008 to fund educational, training, and economic-development programs.
[5] Montgomery County's award of contracts to develop day-labor centers near Gaithersburg to CASA ignited some controversy, including a case of arson.
In a letter to The Gazette, Brad Botwin announced that he was forming a group called Help Save Maryland because of "growing abuses of official power", specifically the day-labor center near Shady Grove.
Cathy Drzyzgula, a member of that task force, called the proposal "a middle path, since it pleases neither extreme, but instead the larger share of people who hold moderate views on the issue" in a letter to The Gazette.
According to The Washington Times, the pamphlet, "which features cartoonlike drawings of armed black and white police officers escorting Hispanic men in handcuffs and shows babies crying because their fathers are behind bars, is the product of CASA of Maryland Inc., working with other organizations.
[28] Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California, a Republican, called the pamphlet "harmful to America" because it teaches illegal aliens "how to circumvent the law", and that CASA was "aiding and abetting criminal activity" by distributing it.
"[29] Torres later partially retracted this statement, saying that his threat to picket schools attended by Minuteman members' children was a "misunderstanding" made in anger.
"These are people who haven’t broken any laws other than getting a traffic ticket, and they’re being arrested and taken to jail", declared Kim Propeack, CASA director of community action.
As a result, The Gazette reported, "the chief said he could not in 'good conscience' order his officers not to serve the warrants if he were told to ignore them by county officials.
Takoma Park has a policy of being a "sanctuary city" and does not permit its police department to arrest people based on criminal immigration warrants.
[34] In October 2023, amid the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, CASA released a statement expressing solidarity with Palestinians and calling for an immediate ceasefire, and ended with the line, "Free Palestine NOW!".
[37] Critics said the statement contained "antisemitic tropes and sentiments" and was denounced by the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation and several members of the Montgomery County Council.
[40][41] In November 2023, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, CASA's largest private donor, announced that it would pull funding meant for the group following the letter, saying that it would redirect its donation "to another nonprofit committed to serving refugees and asylum seekers in Maryland".
Governor Martin O'Malley rejected the proposal, directing the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration to phase in compliance with Real ID starting in 2010[update].
CASA's Kim Propeack said "The administration is prioritizing political pandering over good policymaking" and that the governor "is ignoring all the support he's heard over the years for the system as it exists".
"We have very strong anecdotal evidence of constitutional violations and racial profiling and the ultimate goal is to make sure the Sheriff's Office is being held accountable.