Sylvia R. Garcia

Congresswoman, U.S. House of Representatives

Backstory

By Sue Coyle

“I’m just a country kid who grew up poor who wanted to help people,’’ says Rep. Sylvia R. Garcia as she reflects on her career—one that has spanned from social worker to Legal Aid lawyer to congresswoman and includes many firsts. Garcia was one of the first two Latinas to represent the state of Texas when she was elected in 2018, for example. She says she tries not to think about the history she’s made, but just strives to be the best that she can.

Garcia’s path toward helping began in college. After taking a sociology elective, she realized that she wanted to “do everything I could to make a difference in people’s lives. I still always liked politics, so I did both.” Garcia graduated with a degree in social work and political science.

She initially planned to be a medical social worker, but pivoted after a challenging field placement. “It was too emotionally heartbreaking,” she says. “This was back in the 70s, before they had a lot of the great programs in place now, that the [Trump] administration wants to zero out. It was so much harder to find the kind of services the families needed.”

Instead, Garcia found her footing at her second field placement where she did group work with young girls. After graduation, she worked as a social worker but was eventually inspired by the lawyers at Legal Aid to go to law school. From there, she became a Legal Aid lawyer herself before going into private practice, becoming a judge and running first for local office then state and federal.

Garcia, a Democrat, entered the U.S House of Representatives in January 2019. She has done much since then but is particularly proud of her work on military sexual assault following the murder of Vanessa Guillén at Fort Hood (now Fort Cavazos). Garcia also was an impeachment manager in the first impeachment of President Donald Trump.

Garcia currently is focused on the American Dream and Promise Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for Dreamers. “We’re working hard to make sure that Dreamers know that we have not forgotten them,” she says.

Outside of Congress, Garcia likes to read or go to the movies, but her main focus is the work. “It’s about saving the world, and we’ll do it one of these days.”