Kika de la Garza

Eligio "Kika" de la Garza II (September 22, 1927 – March 13, 2017) was an American lawyer, Korean War veteran, and politician who served 16 consecutive terms as the Democratic representative for the of Texas from January 3, 1965, to January 3, 1997.

Early life De la Garza was born on September 22, 1927 and grew up in the city of Mission in Hidalgo County.

At the age of 17, he entered the United States Navy and served for two years. De la Garza chose to continue his education at Edinburg Junior College. Returned to military service in the United States Army Artillery School at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.

Korean War For two years beginning in 1952, he was a lieutenant in the Army, serving in the 37th Field Artillery Regiment deployed in the Korean War.

Legal career After returning home, he completed his law degree at St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio.

Political career Texas legislature After practicing law for several years in the Rio Grande Valley, he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives, where he served from 1953 to 1965.

While in the state House, de la Garza was known for sponsoring a large amount of legislation in the fields of education and the environment. He authored bills to protect wetlands, create state-sponsored preschools, and create more international bridges to Mexico. He was the only Hispanic member of the Texas House for the first two years of his tenure, but was joined in 1957 by a second Mexican American member, Oscar M. Laurel of Laredo.

Congress In 1964, de la Garza, a strong supporter of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, ran for the United States House of Representatives and won a seat in South Texas. From 1981 to 1994, he was the chairman of the Agriculture Committee, leading the way in passing bills that reorganized the agricultural lending system, the farm insurance system, the United States Department of Agriculture, and pesticide laws. He was also a founding member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

De la Garza voted in favor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Civil Rights Act of 1968, and called for smoother relations between the U.S. and Mexico. He worked to improve trade between the two nations and was critical in passing the legislation that enacted the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Retirement De la Garza retired from public service in 1997. Upon his return home to Texas, he donated his entire Congressional archive to his alma mater, which had by then been renamed to the University of Texas–Pan American. Currently, the collection is housed at the UTRGV Edinburg Campus library. The archive was unveiled publicly in 2012.