Esteban Edward Torres (January 27, 1930 – January 25, 2022) was an American politician who served as member of the United States House of Representatives for California's 34th congressional district from 1983 to 1999.
Early life and education
Torres was born in
Miami, Arizona
Miami ( Western Apache: Goshtłʼish Tú) is a town in Gila County, Arizona, United States. Miami is a classic Western copper boom-town. Miami's old downtown has been partly renovated, and the Bullion Plaza Museum features the cultural, min ...
, to parents from Mexico. He was raised in
East Los Angeles, California
East Los Angeles (), or East L.A., is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, ...
mostly by his mother, Rena Gómez. His father was a
miner
A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face (mining), face; cutt ...
, but was deported to Mexico during the
Mexican Repatriation of the 1930s.
He graduated from
East Los Angeles College
East Los Angeles College (ELAC) is a public community college in Monterey Park, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and the Los Angeles Community College District. With fourteen communiti ...
and
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...
, and later took graduate courses at the
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...
, and
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
.
Career
He served in the United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
from 1949 to 1953. Torres came up through the United Auto Workers, ultimately serving as the international representative of UAW 1964-68 in Washington, DC. In addition to being active in the labor movement
The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...
, he was appointed United States Ambassador
Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the United States' diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of th ...
to the (UNESCO), Paris, France, from 1977 to 1979 and served as a special assistant to President Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
from 1979 to 1981.
Torres was unsuccessful in his attempt to win a seat in the House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
in 1974, but was elected in 1982 as a Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY)
**Democratic Part ...
. He served from 1983 until 1999. During his time in office, he prioritized issue related to Hispanics, and in 1986 he played a key role in the development and passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...
.
He did not run for reelection in 1998 and was succeeded by Democrat Grace Napolitano. He served as a member of the California Transportation Commission
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) is an independent government transportation commission established in 1978. The CTC replaced and assumed the responsibilities of four prior independent agencies, the California Highway Commission, ...
from 1997 to 2007.
Personal life and death
Torres and his wife, Arcy Sanchez, had four children. He died on January 25, 2022, two days shy of his 92nd birthday.[
]
Legacy and awards
* Esteban E. Torres NCLR-Harvard Mid-Career Fellowship Program - a partnership between NCLR
UnidosUS, formerly National Council of La Raza (NCLR) (La Raza), is the United States's largest Latino nonprofit advocacy organization. It advocates in favor of progressive public policy changes including immigration reform, a path to citizens ...
and the John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
* Esteban Torres High School
*In 2001, Torres was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) degree from Whittier College
Whittier College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic-serving institution, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of spring 2024, had 815 ...
.
See also
*
References
External links
*
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Torres, Esteban
1930 births
2022 deaths
20th-century California politicians
American politicians of Mexican descent
American trade unionists of Mexican descent
California State University, Los Angeles alumni
Candidates in the 1974 United States elections
Carter administration personnel
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
East Los Angeles College alumni
Hispanic and Latino American diplomats
Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress
Hispanic and Latino American military personnel
Military personnel from Arizona
Military personnel from California
People from East Los Angeles, California
People from Miami, Arizona
Permanent delegates of the United States to UNESCO
Place of death missing
Politicians from Greater Los Angeles
Trade unionists from California
United States Army personnel of the Korean War
United States Army soldiers
20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives