For Consuelo Angulo, The Garcia class action lawsuit could be the only way her family will keep their 500 acre Rodriguez ranch in Pearsol, Texas.
“Our children just barely got exposed to the ranch because we never exposed them to the ranch for fear that we were going to lose the ranch,” said Consuelo Angulo.
It’s the land her grandfather toiled on day and night to earn a living.
“He was not able to harvest at the times that he needed to harvest,” said Angulo. “He did not have the money. Everything was kept or made difficult for him.”
Angulo blames those troubles on the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
She claims they refused to help her grandfather based solely on his Hispanic background.
Unable to keep up with the costs, the Rodriguez Ranch is now greatly indebted.
“You had people who went to the government to a program that was designed to keep family farmers on the farm. They ended up losing their farms,” said Stephen Hill.
Hill is the lead attorney in the class action lawsuit.
He said there are more than 50 thousand Hispanic farmers in the country.
Half of them live in the Valley.
They’re reaching out to families like Angulo’s to join the lawsuit.
“We’re hoping to get enough not just to bring it out of debt, but also to develop it and sustain it,” said Angulo.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT