[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H2481-H2483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RAUL HECTOR CASTRO PORT OF ENTRY

  Mr RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 1075) to designate the United States Customs and 
Border Protection Port of Entry located at First Street and Pan 
American Avenue in Douglas, Arizona, as the ``Raul Hector Castro Port 
of Entry''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1075

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. RAUL HECTOR CASTRO PORT OF ENTRY.

       (a) Designation.--The United States Customs and Border 
     Protection Port of Entry located at First Street and Pan 
     American Avenue in Douglas, Arizona, shall be known and 
     designated as the ``Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     port of entry referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed 
     to be a reference to the ``Raul Hector Castro Port of 
     Entry''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.


                             General Leave

  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1075 currently 
under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Wisconsin?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.

[[Page H2482]]

  Mr. Speaker, this bill would designate the United States Customs and 
Border Protection Port of Entry located at First Street and Pan 
American Avenue in Douglas, Arizona, as the Raul Hector Castro Port of 
Entry.
  Raul Hector Castro was a distinguished public servant who served in 
both elected and nonelected public services, in offices such as the 
Governor of Arizona and a United States Ambassador.
  Mr. Castro was the first Mexican American to be elected Governor of 
Arizona, and he served as United States Ambassador to Bolivia, El 
Salvador, and Argentina. He will be remembered with respect for his 
lifelong dedication and his many contributions to his country.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the gentleman from Arizona 
(Mr. Grijalva) and thank him for bringing this to our attention and for 
being the author of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin and the leadership 
on the other side of the aisle for expediting this particular request--
I am very appreciative--and to all the members of the Arizona 
delegation for their concurrence with this designation.
  I am proud to offer this bill today to recognize a man that not only 
led a tremendous life of public service, but served as a personal hero 
to many of us in Arizona, as well as the Nation.
  His story is one worth sharing. By designating the Douglas Port of 
Entry as the Raul Hector Castro Port of Entry, we will ensure the story 
continues to be memorialized and told; and in the future, when a 
revitalized port is designated for Douglas, Arizona, it will continue 
to bear his name.
  Mr. Castro was the embodiment of the American Dream and, despite all 
the odds, he proved that, with perseverance and courage, all dreams can 
be achieved.
  Mr. Castro's story, like many Americans today, begins south of the 
border. Born June 12, 1916, in Cananea, Mexico, Mr. Castro grew up in 
Arizona and graduated from Douglas High School.
  He was the second youngest in a family of 12 children. His father was 
a union leader forced out of Mexico for organizing the mine in Cananea. 
His father died when Castro was only 12 years old, and his mother 
became a midwife to feed the family.
  Growing up on the U.S.-Mexico border near Douglas, Arizona, Castro 
learned many life lessons, especially when it came to the issues of 
prejudice and injustice. He often spoke of walking 5 miles to a 
segregated school while White children rode a bus to another school.
  He was keenly aware of the difference in the quality of jobs 
available to men and women that looked like him. This early prejudice 
and discrimination ultimately became his enduring motivation.
  A moment engraved in his memory is when, despite not being able to 
properly pronounce his name, Castro realized his grammar school teacher 
truly cared for him and wanted him to be a good student. Castro 
embraced this encouragement and became an even more determined student 
than he was.
  A stellar student, an athlete, his enthusiasm continued through 
college. After graduation, after being denied a teaching job because of 
his race, he went on to work in the field picking sugar beets and at 
the Douglas mining smelter, where he was paid half the wages of his 
White counterparts.
  Still undeterred, he landed a job with the U.S. Consulate in the 
border city of Agua Prieta, Mexico. Then, despite being told it was 
impossible, he fought to enter law school and eventually graduated with 
a J.D. from the University of Arizona. He excelled and went on to be 
the first elected Mexican American county attorney and, later, the 
first Mexican American judge in the Pima County Superior Court.
  This was just the beginning of Castro's improbable journey. He went 
on to serve as U.S. Ambassador to three Latin American countries. 
Lyndon Johnson sent him to El Salvador and Bolivia, where he stayed for 
a short time under President Nixon before returning to Arizona and 
making the first of two bids for Governor.
  After two of the closest gubernatorial elections in State history, 
Castro once again trumped all odds and became the State's first Latino 
elected to serve as Governor. He defeated his opponent by less than 1 
percentage point and recalls being 4,000 votes behind until the Navajo 
voters' ballots were counted, and that turned out to be the margin of 
his victory. Castro served 2\1/2\ years as Governor before resigning, 
when President Carter asked him to be Ambassador to Argentina.
  Let me quote directly from Raul Castro's memoir published in 2009, 
appropriately entitled, ``Adversity Is My Angel.''
  The introduction starts:

       Raul H. Castro's unlikely but distinguished professional 
     career suggests that the adversity inherent in his humble 
     beginnings only hardened his resolve and strengthened his 
     determination. He was born into grinding poverty and minority 
     status on the U.S.-Mexico border, but eventually overcame 
     these obstacles to become, among other titles, Arizona's 
     first Hispanic Governor. Castro's story, which suggests much 
     about the human spirit and the hope of the American Dream, is 
     one that ought to be told.

  In that introduction, it continues:

       Yet, in spite of such a disadvantaged beginning, Castro 
     found a way to get an education and embark on his path to the 
     prominent positions that he held in his lifetime, beginning 
     as a teacher, then a lawyer, then a Pima County Attorney, 
     Superior Court Judge, the Governor of Arizona, an American 
     Ambassador to El Salvador, Bolivia, and Argentina. Though 
     Castro suffered innumerable instances of social and racial 
     discrimination, he overcame institutional and personal 
     prejudice to attain the life he deserved.
       Raul Castro's career and service serve as dual role models, 
     not only for Mexican Americans, but for all Americans.

  He said:

       At the time I moved to Tucson, just after the cessation of 
     hostilities in World War II, the public school system was 
     instrumental in the subordination, rather than the 
     advancement, of Mexican students. They were put in vocational 
     classes and discouraged from attending college.
       I decided, what a terrible waste of brain power.

  In Governor Castro's own words, he said at the time: ``I intended to 
take a different track and buck that trend.''
  Indeed, he did buck that trend and opened a new path in public 
service for many of us, including myself. Castro credits the challenges 
faced to shaping his character and understood that education was the 
ultimate path to a better life. To him, the far most important part of 
the legacy was to inspire Mexican American children and all children to 
aspire to do great things, even in the face of adversity.
  Even in his nineties, Castro continued to work with underrepresented 
and poor students to encourage them to pursue higher education, to get 
their education, and to use the obstacles as motivation to make their 
life better for others.
  This bill recognizes an extraordinary pioneer that dedicated his life 
to public service and to the fight for equality. I appreciate the 
support of the entire Arizona House delegation for honoring this 
American legend.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gallego.)
  Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1075.
  I would like to begin by thanking my good friend, Congressman 
Grijalva, and the gentleman from Wisconsin for yielding their time and 
for authoring this important legislation.
  Governor Raul Castro was a trailblazing figure in Arizona history, 
and renaming the city of Douglas port of entry in his honor is a 
fitting tribute to all that he did for our State and its people.
  Mr. Speaker, Governor Castro was the first Mexican American Governor 
of our fine State. He also served as Ambassador to Argentina, Bolivia, 
and El Salvador.
  Governor Castro paved the way for a new generation of politically 
active Latinos and immigrants who followed in his footsteps and fought 
to make their voices heard. He played an important role in the history 
of Arizona and of the Latino rights movement, and we will be forever 
indebted to him for his work on behalf of our community.
  Governor Castro devoted his entire life to public service. He saw 
that Latinos in Arizona needed a voice, and he accepted that challenge. 
He worked tirelessly to encourage Hispanics to get involved and 
participate in our democracy.

[[Page H2483]]

  Mr. Speaker, Governor Castro is an inspiration to Arizonans and 
Latinos in public service throughout this country.
  I want to thank, again, Congressman Grijalva for his tremendous work 
on this legislation, and I urge its passage.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers. Let me thank my 
colleague, Mr. Gallego, for his support and his eloquent statements. 
And to Mr. Ryan, thank you again for expediting and having this vote 
today.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I will just simply say I 
congratulate the Arizona delegation for bringing this bipartisan bill 
to the floor. It is a fitting tribute to a man who has an important 
place in history.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1075.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________