right to equality. They chose this name to emphasize that AGIF's participants were American citizens entitled to their constitutional rights. Later, AGIF's patriotism would exempt them from FBI infiltration at a time when the agency accused many Mexican-American organizations of having Marxist sympathies. Felix Z. Longoria Jr. In 1945, a Japanese sniper killed Mexican-American private Felix Z. Longoria Jr. in the Philippines. His body was returned to Texas in 1949. His widow's request to use the funeral chapel in Three Rivers was denied, as the funeral director claimed that "the whites won't like it". Dr. García and AGIF intervened, petitioning freshman US Senator Lyndon B. Johnson for redress of the outrage. Johnson secured Longoria's burial in Arlington National Cemetery, where he became the first Mexican American to be awarded this honor. When New York Times reported on the case, it gained national attention, and AGIF was propelled to the forefront of the movement for civil rights. Following this incident, AGIF expanded into the states of New Mexico and Colorado. AGIF in American politics AGIF became a recognized voice for Mexican Americans in the post-World War II era. Besides providing veterans with a social and political network, AGIF took pragmatic actions: it raised funds to pay for poll taxes for the indigent, so they did not have a barrier to voting. It campaigned against the Bracero Program, which had recruited migrant laborers during the war years and was known for discriminatory abuses. Dr. García testified before the National Advisory Committee on Farm Labor, asserting that "The migrant problem is not only a national emergency, it has become a national shame on the American conscience." This work brought him into contact with such national political figures as Hubert Humphrey, Arthur Goldberg, and George McGovern. The organization, and the attention it drew to poverty and discrimination in Texas, also got the attention of Look. It published an article on the high rates of diphtheria, infant diarrhea, and tuberculosis suffered by the neglected community. García also worked to bring national attention to the conditions of schools for children in South Texas. In 1950, he wrote a request to the Texas Department of Health, expressing concerns about sanitation and mandating inspection to prevent disease or epidemics. García also voiced his opposition to segregation of schools and discrimination in the classroom. Many whites expressed opposition toward García and felt threatened by the work of AGIF. One