Martin Gauto is the Director of Capacity Building. He is the son of Argentinian immigrants and grew up in the Palm Springs area before settling in Los Angeles. He began his legal career with Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) where he helped establish one of the first legal services programs in Los Angeles dedicated to representing unaccompanied minors in removal proceedings. Martin was a founding member of Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, where he worked from 2008-2013. After returning to CLINIC for nine years, where he was the Director of Training and Legal Services, Martin joined ImmDef in 2022. He is now leading efforts to increase legal capacity within ImmDef’s programs and regionally, with an eye toward expanding universal representation for all individuals in removal proceedings.

Martin is a member, and former co-chair, of the American Bar Association (ABA), Section of Litigation, Children’s Rights Litigation Committee. He is also the Section of Litigation’s Liaison to the ABA Commission on Immigration. Martin previously taught Immigration law as an Adjunct Professor at the La Verne School of Law. Martin is based in Los Angeles, CA.