Des Moines Register (Iowa):
By Grant Rodgers
Cesar
Vargas' fight to become the first undocumented immigrant lawyer in New
York state is on hold after a Polk County judge chose to keep him on
probation for disrupting
a summit of Republican presidential hopefuls.
But
the Mexican-born activist said he won't stop speaking out on
immigration issues at political events. Vargas, 31, was charged in
January with trespassing at the Iowa
Freedom Summit at the privately-owned Hoyt Sherman Place for
interrupting a speech by Chris Christie. Vargas shouted from the balcony
to ask whether the New Jersey governor would support deporting the
activist's 70-year-old mother.
"I
will continue to advocate for the reasons that I came to Iowa for,"
Vargas said outside the courthouse Wednesday. "I think that immigration
is an issue that is important
for our country, and I will continue to make sure our voices are
heard."
Vargas
came to the United States from Mexico at age five with his mother and
siblings. He passed the New York bar exam in 2011 after graduating from
City University of
New York School of Law and hoped to practice immigration and criminal
law.
A
state committee in 2013 denied him a license due to uncertainty over
whether an undocumented immigrant could practice in the state. A New
York appellate court in June
overturned that decision.
But
Vargas' one-year probation for the Iowa simple misdemeanor is at odds
with a New York policy against admitting new lawyers while they're on
probation. At the Wednesday
morning hearing, Des Moines attorney Glen Downey argued that Iowa law
allows Vargas to be released from his low-risk probation after he did a
short interview with a probation officer and paid a $300 fine.
However,
District Judge Kevin Parker said it's uncommon for somebody to be taken
off probation after just one month, even if it's allowed by law. "I
can't remember ever
doing it," he said. "You're not any exception to anybody else."
The
decision casts uncertainty over what will happen next with Vargas' bid
to become a lawyer. It's up to a New York committee on character and
fitness to decide whether
to set aside the probation and admit him to the bar, Vargas said. Some
sort of decision could be made in the coming weeks.
More
than 1,200 people signed a Change.Org petition asking Democrat Polk
County Attorney John Sarcone's office to drop its resistance to Vargas'
request to be let off
probation early. Activists circulated the main phone number to
Sarcone's downtown Des Moines office on Twitter, urging people to call
and voice their opinions.
Vargas'
legal fight has attracted support from Democrat U.S. senators and
congressmen. But Assistant Polk County Attorney Jeff Noble told Parker
that Vargas was exploiting
his stature to ask for special treatment.
"I
support him in the fact that he's been able to reach those pinnacles
given the challenges he has faced," Noble said. "My fear is today he
will become a symbol for the
proposition that we do treat some people different in the criminal
justice system if they're willing to step in front of the camera, if
they're willing to talk with a Des Moines Register reporter, if they're
willing to argue their case and have enough friends
writing letters to the court."
Noble also told the judge that Vargas "inconvenienced" police, judges and the jurors who served during the two-day trial.
It
was offensive that the prosecutor characterized Vargas' jury trial as
an inconvenience when trial-by-jury is a right guaranteed to all
criminal defendants by the U.S.
Constitution, Downey said. Vargas was not asking for any sort of
special treatment, only what's allowable under Iowa law, he said.
"I'm sorry the Constitution is an inconvenience for the state of Iowa," he said after the hearing.
After
graduating law school, Vargas co-founded the DREAMER Action Coalition,
an immigrant-rights advocacy group. In February 2013 he was authorized
by the federal government
to stay in the U.S. under President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
Vargas said he'll obey any state or local laws when he speaks out at future political events.
"I
don't question challenging politicians," he said. "I don't question
challenging elected officials when there are issues that matter to my
family.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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