1. Silvestre "Silver" Reyes was born on November 10,1944 and is an American politician who was the US representative for, serving from 1997 to 2013.
25 Facts About Silvestre Reyes
1. 2.
In 2008 Silvestre Reyes served as the Southwest Co-Chairman for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign along with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
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Silvestre Reyes was born in Canutillo, an unincorporated suburban community west of El Paso, and is the oldest of 10 children.
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Silvestre Reyes graduated from Canutillo High School and received his associate degree from El Paso Community College.
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Silvestre Reyes attended the University of Texas at Austin before serving in the United States Army in 1966.
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In 1967, Silvestre Reyes served as a helicopter crew chief in the Vietnam War.
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In 1968, Silvestre Reyes suffered complete hearing loss to his right ear when mortar landed near his foxhole during combat.
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In 1969, Silvestre Reyes joined the US Border Patrol where he served for over 26 years.
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From 1984 - 1995 Silvestre Reyes served as the Sector Chief for the McAllen and El Paso Sectors of the Border Patrol.
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In 1993, while serving as the Chief Patrol Agent of the El Paso Border Patrol Sector, Silvestre Reyes led the Border Patrol to strategically position agents on the border to intercept illegal immigrants in a strategy later termed "Operation Hold the Line".
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Silvestre Reyes gained enormous popularity in the 16th Congressional District due to the Operation's success, along with other factors, in reducing illegal immigration.
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Silvestre Reyes is credited with the recent success of Fort Bliss and White Sands military bases in the most recent Base Realignment and Closure decisions by the Department of Defense.
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On December 1,2006, Silvestre Reyes was tapped by Pelosi, the prospective Speaker of the House, to be the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
14.
Silvestre Reyes was a key player in the 109th Congress because of his Immigration and Border Patrol experience.
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Silvestre Reyes has served as chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
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On March 27,2009, Silvestre Reyes was tapped by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to lead a high-level Congressional Delegation to meet with President Felipe Calderon of Mexico.
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Silvestre Reyes led the delegation and was accompanied by Ike Skelton, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Howard Berman, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
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In 2006, Silvestre Reyes was selected as the "El Pasoan of the Year" by the El Paso, Inc for his successful efforts in Congress to expand the role and mission of Fort Bliss.
19.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute honored Silvestre Reyes known on the hill for his humor by naming their annual stand up comedy event the "Silvestre Reyes of Comedy" in 2000.
20.
In 1995, Silvestre Reyes retired from the US Border Patrol and announced his candidacy for the US Congress against Ron Coleman in the Democratic primary, but Coleman later retired.
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Silvestre Reyes then defeated Jose Luis Sanchez in the runoff by just over 1,000 votes.
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Silvestre Reyes won the general election with little trouble, taking 70 percent of the vote.
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Silvestre Reyes was reelected seven times with no substantive Republican opposition.
24.
Silvestre Reyes only faced a Libertarian challenger in 1998 and 2008, and was completely unopposed in 2000.
25.
Silvestre Reyes' campaign received endorsements from incumbent President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton, with the latter appearing at a rally for him.