BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Federico "Fred" Garza has organized voters in the Rio Grande Valley for more than half a century. On the eve of Election Day, the 80-year-old civil rights leader is doing it again.
Garza is among the League of United Latin American Citizens volunteers riding in a caravan across the four-county region Sunday and Monday. Their goal is to reach every eligible voter who has not yet cast a ballot before the polls open Tuesday, Nov. 3. "I'm 80 years old, and I'm still on the front lines," Garza said. "We keep on fighting."
The work is personal. Garza said he has called every member of his family to make sure they vote. He described a woman who told him her husband had been eligible for 57 years and had never voted. This year, Garza said, the man gathered his paperwork, confirmed his registration and went to the polls. "I'm getting a lot of positive feedback from the community right now," he said.
Garza said the past two years have shaken the Valley. He pointed to federal immigration enforcement as the turning point for many families. "Most of the people in the United States are good by nature," Garza said, invoking Anne Frank's belief that people are good at heart. "When they have seen these atrocities committed by ICE, a lot of people are starting to change their minds."
He said fear now shapes daily life. Some residents tell him they no longer buy groceries or eat at restaurants because they fear detention and deportation. "Never did I think our situation was going to get this bad," he said.
Garza has seen where dehumanization leads. He has walked through the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and a former Nazi concentration camp. "It starts by dehumanizing people," he said. "We've got to remember that we're all children of God, that all the immigrants are our brothers and sisters."
He also worked during the Cuban refugee crisis at Guantanamo Bay, where he said some 32,000 Cubans were held behind barbed wire. Doctors and lawyers were among them, he said. "I saw the best of human beings, and I saw the worst," Garza said.
The caravan rolls into a region voting at a historic pace. Through Oct. 29, 148,240 early ballots had been cast in Hidalgo County, 31.8% of its 466,208 registered voters, according to unofficial Texas Secretary of State data. Cameron County recorded 71,304 early ballots, 29.2% of 244,070 registered voters.
Valley turnout ran about 64% ahead of its 2022 midterm pace, though all four counties trailed the statewide average. Texas entered the election with a record 19 million registered voters, up 7.7% from the last midterm.
The stakes are high. President Donald Trump carried Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr and Willacy counties in 2024. Voto Latino and the Hispanic Federation estimate nearly 316,000 eligible Latinos in the Valley did not vote that year.
Garza finds hope in young people. At a recent caminata in San Benito, he watched them discuss the 1915 Matanza.
During that period, Texas Rangers, local law enforcement officers and vigilantes killed Mexicans and Mexican Americans across the Valley, often without trial. A state historical marker near San Benito now honors the victims, among them Rodolfo Muñiz, who was lynched on the San Benito-Brownsville road in July 1915 while in custody. Each year around Día de los Muertos, residents walk to the marker in remembrance.
"Some of these young people are getting involved and starting to learn their history," Garza said. The most common thing he hears is that voting makes no difference. "Now I'm starting to see a lot of young people saying, 'You know what? It does make a difference,'" he said.
Garza said Valley leaders must never take their constituents for granted. He named affordable health care, including the Affordable Care Act, as a top priority. One night in the hospital, he said, should not bury a family in debt for life. He also called for transparency and limits on money's power in government.
He drew on his own record. When he took over the accounting system at Texas Southmost College, staff told him it would take two years to bring it current. He worked from 6 a.m. until 10 or 11 p.m., six days a week, and had it running in six months. Rebuilding health care, education and the safety net could take a decade, he said. Leaders with courage could do it faster. "We should always govern by what's best for our constituents, not by what I need to do to get reelected," Garza said.
Garza's message for the last 48 hours is direct. "Do everything in your power to go vote," he said. "If you have already voted, then call every person you know, every family member, to go and vote." He warned that division is the Valley's greatest threat. He said Republicans have worked to split the community. "United we stand, divided we fall," he said. "Don't let that happen." His goal reaches beyond one election. "We want to make sure that we have humane treatment for every human being on this Earth," Garza said. "Our legacy is to leave a better world for whoever comes behind us."
Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Voters should confirm polling locations with their county elections office.
Editor’s Note: The above feature was penned by the League of United Latin American Citizens just ahead of the Nov. 3 Midterm elections.
About LULAC
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation's oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization. Founded in 1929, LULAC is committed to advancing the rights and opportunities of Latino Americans through advocacy, community building, and education. With a growing network of councils nationwide, LULAC remains committed to its mission of protecting and empowering millions of Latinos who contribute daily to America's prosperity. For more information about LULAC and its initiatives, visit www.lulac.org.
