Esteban Torres

Esteban Torres
Esteban Torres
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; from California's 34th district
	In office; January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1999
Preceded by	Dan Lungren
Succeeded by	Grace Napolitano
Personal details
Born	January 27, 1930; Miami, Arizona, U.S.
Died	January 25, 2022 (aged 91)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Arcy Sanchez
Children	4
Education	East Los Angeles College; California State University, Los Angeles (BA); University of Maryland, College Park; American University
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1949–1953
Rank	Sergeant First Class
Battles/wars	Korean War

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.^[1]

Early life and education

Torres was born in Miami, Arizona, to parents from Mexico. He was raised in East Los Angeles, California mostly by his mother, Rena Gómez. His father was a miner, but was deported to Mexico during the Mexican Repatriation of the 1930s.^[2]^[3] He graduated from East Los Angeles College and California State University, Los Angeles, and later took graduate courses at the University of Maryland, College Park, and American University.^[2]^[4]

Career

He served in the United States Army 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, he was appointed United States Ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Paris, France, from 1977 to 1979 and served as a special assistant to President Jimmy Carter from 1979 to 1981.^[1]

Torres was unsuccessful in his attempt to win a seat in the House of Representatives in 1974, but was elected in 1982 as a Democrat. 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.^[4]

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^[5] 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.^[2]

Legacy and awards

Esteban E. Torres NCLR-Harvard Mid-Career Fellowship Program - a partnership between NCLR and the John F. Kennedy School of Government^[6]
Esteban Torres High School
In 2001, Torres was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) degree from Whittier College.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b "Esteban Torres". Hispanic Americans in Congress. Library of Congress. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c Seelye, Katharine Q. (January 29, 2022). "Esteban Torres, Congressional Advocate for Latinos, Dies at 91". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
^ Sierra, José Luis (November 12, 2004). "Chopped Lives". La Opinion. Archived from the original on August 14, 2007. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
^ ^a ^b Vives, Ruben (January 27, 2022). "Esteban Torres, longtime L.A. congressman who championed Latino rights, dies at 91". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
^ "Commissioners". California Transportation Commission (CTC). Archived from the original on September 7, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2006.
^ "National Directory of Scholarships, Internships, and Fellowships for Latino Youth" (PDF). CHCI: 82. 2002. Retrieved April 22, 2015. The Esteban E. Torres Fellowship, a fellowship for Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government
^ "Honorary Degrees". Whittier College. 2001.

External links

United States Congress. "Esteban Torres (id: T000316)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Appearances on C-SPAN

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Dan Lungren	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 34th congressional district 1983–1999	Succeeded by Grace Napolitano
Preceded by Matthew G. Martínez	Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus 1986–1987	Succeeded by Albert Bustamante