AP
July 8, 2015
An
aspiring New York lawyer trying to become one of the few immigrants
living in the U.S. illegally to be granted a law license hit a glitch
Wednesday when an Iowa judge
refused to prematurely end his probation on a misdemeanor conviction.
Cesar
Vargas, who was 5 when his mother brought him to the U.S. from Mexico,
was arrested in January for disrupting a speech by New Jersey Gov. Chris
Christie in Des Moines.
The immigration activist was convicted in June of trespassing,
sentenced to a year of probation and fined $65.
The
31-year-old is applying for a law license in New York, which generally
doesn't grant licenses to people on probation. Vargas asked a judge to
end his probation early,
and finished all other requirements of his sentence, but the judge
refused Wednesday.
"It
would be rare for this court to discharge anybody sooner," Judge Kevin
Parker said during a hearing in Des Moines, adding that he saw no reason
to allow an exception
in his case.
Vargas, who went to high school and college in New York, said he accepted the decision.
"This
is part of the journey," Vargas said after the hearing. "I've learned
that although you need a license to be admitted as a lawyer and to
represent clients, you don't
need a license to advocate for your family."
In
January, Vargas interrupted Christie — now a GOP presidential candidate
— during an Iowa Freedom Summit gathering arranged by U.S. Rep. Steve
King, an outspoken opponent
of President Barack Obama's immigration policies.
Before
a crowd of more than 1,000 Republicans, Vargas asked Christie if he
would support deporting Vargas' 70-year-old mother, who brought the
family to the U.S. in 1988.
Vargas was arrested after leaving the event.
During
Wednesday's hearing, Polk County prosecutor Jeff Noble said he
respected Vargas' willingness to speak out on principles he believes in,
but noted it was unusual
for anyone placed on probation for a year to serve less than six
months.
Noble also said Vargas inconvenienced the court by demanding a jury trial on a simple misdemeanor trespass charge.
After
the hearing, Vargas' attorney criticized that assertion and said the
county attorney's office and the Iowa Department of Corrections
routinely allow people to be
discharged early.
"Mr.
Vargas has been consistent and loud in expressing his opinions, and the
county attorney and the state doesn't like him expressing his opinions,
and we think that's
reflected here today," defense attorney Glen Downey said.
Vargas
completed high school in New York and obtained a law degree from City
University of New York School of Law. He has been allowed to remain and
work in the U.S. under
Obama's Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals policy initiated in
2012.
A
New York appeals court in June said Vargas could apply for a law
license — making him the first person illegally living in the U.S. to be
eligible to practice as an
attorney in New York and among only a few in the U.S.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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