Rep. Silvestre Reyes – Facts
Silvestre Reyes was born on Nov. 10, 1944, in Canutillo, Texas, a small community just north of El Paso. He is known as "Silver" to his friends.
His father, who dropped out of school in the sixth grade, was a successful farmer. Helping out on the farm as a child, Reyes used to serve as the lookout for Border Patrol agents – yelling "migra" to alert undocumented workers that they should hide.
The eldest of 10 children, Reyes was raised in humble conditions, explaining: "It was an environment of very hard work. Some might have called our circumstances austere or poor, but we did not feel that way. We worked hard but had everything we needed."
A third-generation Mexican-American, Reyes's first language was Spanish. He learned English when he started elementary school.
Drafted into the Army, Reyes served from 1966–1968. He worked as a helicopter crew chief and gunner and spent 13 months in Vietnam.
Reyes returned to the States and attended college on the GI Bill, obtaining an associate's degree in criminal justice from El Paso Community College in 1977.
Reyes also started his career with the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the U.S. Border Patrol during this time. Joining in 1969, Reyes was promoted up through the ranks, serving as sector chief first in McAllen, Texas, and then in El Paso from 1984 to 1995.
Reyes is well known for beginning a program called "Operation Hold the Line" during his tenure with the INS. By placing agents 100 yards apart along the border, the flow of illegal immigrants into the area was reduced.
Reyes retired from the Border Patrol in December 1995 to run for Congress. After narrowly winning the primary runoff with 51 percent of the vote, he won the general election, becoming the first Hispanic to represent the 16th District of Texas.
Reyes has been married to Carolina Gayran Reyes for 38 years. They have three children (Monica, Rebecca, and Silvestre Jr.) and three grandchildren.
Compiled by the U.S.News & World Report library
Sources:
- Associated Press
- Dallas Morning News
- Contemporary Hispanic Biography
- Miami Herald
- wwwc.house.gov/reyes