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| Cesar Vargas has become the first illegal immigrant to be granted a law license under the rules of DACA. Image: Shutterstock |
Cesar Vargas,
co-director of the Dream Action Coalition, one of the most prominent immigrant
rights groups in the US, was finally allowed to practice law on Wednesday when
a New York court ruled in his favor.
Though Vargas graduated from the CUNY School of Law and passed the New
York Bar exam in 2011, his status as an illegal immigrant (he came to the US
from Mexico at age 5) kept the courts from allowing himto actively practice.
Vargas remained
an undocumented immigrant but was given deferred action status in 2012 under
President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals order.
The subcommittee
of the Committee on Character and Fitness for the Second Judicial Department recommended
against activating Vargas’s status back in 2013, despite his “stellar
character,” because of the immigration issue.
Now, however, the advocate for immigrant rights will be officially
allowed to practice law to help the people served by the Dream Action
Coalition.
The
New York court said in its decision that it found “no legal impediment or
rational basis for withholding the privilege of practicing law in the state of
New York from undocumented immigrants who have been granted DACA relief.”
Jose Perez, who
represented Vargas in the case, commented that the decision is a major advance
for immigrant rights and could affect future cases involving those who are
affected by DACA.
Other states are
facing similar issues. In January 2014,
the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of a license for Sergio Garcia, who
came to the US from Mexico as a teenager.
Several months later, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that immigrants
who entered the US illegally can’t be given law licenses.
Vargas hopes to start his own law firm, now that his
three-year battle to gain a license has ended.
He also plans to continue advocating for immigrant rights.
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