NEW YORK – Vargas is a name that resonates with the cause of Dreamers: the influential journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize winner and founder of the organization Define American. César Vargas, the first lawyer and Dreamer authorized to practice in New York and his brother Carlos Vargas, an activist and economist, who is involved in a lawsuit against the Trump administration for the termination of DACA.

We present Carlos’ story, who like his brother Cesar, was brought to the United States by his mother Teresa Galindo with two other brothers in 1990. The family arrived from Puebla, Mexico, seeking a better future.

“We were in California for two weeks, spent a month in the Bronx, then lived in Brooklyn for 19 years until we moved to Staten Island,” says the dreamer. Thinking back on his childhood, he remembers that Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay, in southern Brooklyn, had more Hispanics back then. Guatemalans, Ecuadorians and Peruvians were in the middle of communities made up of immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

“It was difficult because of the language barrier, although many children in my class were immigrants, I could not communicate with them. I had to go to special classes,” he says.

His family always lived in fear of being deported.

“My mom would always tell us to be very careful. In the 90s, immigration officials would show up at factories, they were everywhere. We were always timid and afraid. When we went out with our friends, we had to carry our passport in case they asked us for identification,” Carlos said.

Carlos wanted to follow in his brother Cesar’s footsteps by studying law but he witnessed firsthand the problems his brother faced being undocumented. Cesar was threatened with expulsion from his university and fought in court for nearly four years to be able to legally practice law.

By becoming a lawyer, Vargas followed in the footsteps of immigrants like Sergio C. Garcia and Jose Godinez Samperio, who obtained permission to practice law in California and Florida after similar legal victories in 2014.

Carlos was able to attend City University of New York without submitting a Social Security number. It took Carlos seven years to graduate with a degree in Economics and Finance. He worked his way through school as a busboy.

Making an impact and changing the laws

Things changed for Carlos when he signed up for DACA after more than two decades of being undocumented. He’s now part of the Dream Action Coalition, an organization founded by his brother that supports fair immigration reform. He’s also part of Make the Road New York, an organization supporting the Latino and working-class community.

“Our fight is for the Dream Act. Immigration laws are outdated and we want to change them because currently there are no options. We want to make an impact,” he said.

“As for young people who are fighting for the Dream Act alone, it’s not that they’re selfish, but they do not see the whole picture. The original Dreamers are the parents who brought us. That’s why it must be a fair and just reform, not only for young people but for families.”

Carlos used his 74-year-old mother as an example. Since she arrived in the United States she dedicated her life to her family by cleaning houses, babysitting and picking up empty cans to sell. All to ensure food and shelter for her children.

Although many think DACA is dead, some like Carlos believe it can be saved.

That’s why he added his name to the 2016 lawsuit Batalla Vidal v. Duke. The suit challenges the Trump administration’s ending of the DACA program.

“We are taking the fight to the streets, through marches and in the courts,” he said.

Make the Road New York (MRNY), the Law School of Yale University and the National Immigration Law Center filed a suit on behalf of Martin Batalla Vidal in defense of the DAPA and DACA program.

On September 5, 2017, the three organizations asked to amend the original complaint arguing the termination of DACA by the Trump administration was unconstitutional and violated federal laws.

The defendants are President Donald Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Elaine Duke. Six of the plaintiffs are members of MRNY including Antonio Alarcon, Eliana Fernández, Carolina Fung Feng and Carlos Vargas.

The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in East New York. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis and Judge James Orenstein have been assigned to the case.

“We also asked the Court to declare that all persons who have DACA or could have applied for DACA are in a class or group of people, so we can represent the interests of the group in this lawsuit,” said Carlos Vargas.

The Attorneys General of New York, Massachusetts, Washington, District of Columbia and twelve other states have sued the Trump administration for similar reasons in the same court and their cases are also before Judge Garaufis. At least six other lawsuits are pending in California and elsewhere.

At the moment, the court has indicated it expects to issue a decision before March 5, 2018, to protect DACA beneficiaries who will lose their protections on that date. Regardless of the decision, the case is likely to be appealed all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

Lea esta historia en español, “La lucha es por un Dream Act que incluya a los padres de los dreamers“.