ACHIEVEMENT. Vargas spent four years in court before receiving permission to practice law. | Photo: Twitter @DREAMer_Esq.
César Vargas is a lawyer, activist and soldier who came to the country when he was only five years old, accompanied by his brothers and his mother Teresa, whom he considers his inspiration.
He marked a historic milestone by becoming the first undocumented person to be allowed to practice law in the United States, after four long years of court battles beginning with his graduation in 2011, in Staten Island, New York.
His story is an example that there are no insurmountable barriers in the United States when the North sets its sights on achieving the American dream. In Hispanic Heritage Month, it is worth highlighting their achievements as an example of the migrant community.
Vargas wanted to be a lawyer and a military man since he was little. He came to the United States from Puebla, Mexico. He was able to continue his university studies thanks to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, established during the Barack Obama administration in 2012.
DACA fought court battles to support itself, and Vargas was one of the activists and beneficiaries who fought for the program from Staten Island, where he resides. As a lawyer, he continued to defend the rights of immigrants and, specifically, the Dreamers.
In February of this year, he was sworn in as a US citizen, after marrying a pro-migrant activist, according to a review by Efe.
Political aspiration
“All my life I have faced challenges … but my mother and my family have always given me support to move forward,” said Vargas in April of this year during an interview for Telemundo, on the subject of running as a candidate in the primaries to preside over Staten Island County.
Vargas tried to become the first Hispanic president of Staten Island, which has a 17.3% Latino population, including undocumented, for the Democratic Party. At the time, he proposed a government open to the people, with civil rights offices and programs to help migrants insert themselves into the community.
He also came to plan English classes for Hispanics and bring food to those most in need; and ensuring that others can achieve the American dream. In March he struggled to get a minimum of 1,200 votes to register his candidacy, amid the pandemic.
The battles he fought to become an American citizen – in his view – help him connect with “many people who are going through the same process. “To know what our community is facing you have to know exactly what is happening,” he commented in an interview with Efe.
Vargas wanted in particular to represent essential Staten Island workers who are on the front lines and “don’t have the support that those who were able to stay home and receive a check from the federal government have had.”
“This is a county very impacted by the pandemic. The suffering is real and where is the government, the representatives, the county president and the other politicians who did not speak with immigrants, with Latinos during the pandemic? ”He questioned in February of this year.
Military career
In August, he shared on social media that he was proud to join the ranks of the NCOs, thanked the platoon that accompanied him for their support and for giving him the opportunity to “be in charge of soldiers who literally come from all over the world.”
“I will continue to push them to excel just like some amazing senior NCOs push me to be better than the day before. And this is only the beginning ”, expressed in Instagram.
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