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Fighting For Immigrants In The Armed Forces And Their Right To Stay In The U.S.

Winner

Cesar Vargas

Fighting For Immigrants In The Armed Forces And Their Right To Stay In The U.S.

Website

twitter.com/dreamer_esq

Year

2021

Sector

Civics

Borough

Staten Island

Cesar, NYC’s first undocumented attorney turned U.S. citizen, is building a support network for immigrant veterans in the Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps.

Growing up undocumented in NYC after crossing the Mexico-US border at age five, Cesar dreamed of serving the country he called home. It’s a vision that he has realized in spades. From becoming New York’s first undocumented attorney, to enlisting in …
Read winner story

Update from winner

JAG Ceremony
@DREAMer_EsqJune 28, 2024
Ft Leonard Wood’s naturalization program going strong w/ this week’s ceremony welcoming 30 new citizens! 🇺🇸

I’m proud to work w/ an amazing team committed to reviewing citizenship applications, scheduling fingerprinting/ interviews, & certifying military service.
“Cesar isn’t afraid to swim against the tide. He has assisted 15 soldiers’ citizenship processes, aiding each of us.⁠”
Sergeant Tiago Rocha
US Army Reserve

Publication

CBS News

By Camilo Montoya-Galvez
May 10, 2019
Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. — One by one, the young soldiers stepped forward methodically, announcing their rank, last name and hometown. By the time it was Cesar Vargas' turn, his brothers and sisters in arms in Charlie Company…

Update from winner

40 Soilders Enlisted
https://x.com/DREAMer_Esq/statFebruary 21, 2024
This is where I belong. When I enlisted in 2019, there was virtually no naturalization program at my base to help Soldiers become citizens. Our Natz program is now fully activated. Today we assisted & naturalized nearly 40 Soldiers in just one day! #OperationCitizenship

Publication

TIME

Cesar’s Law: “I want to fight for immigration reform”

By Lena Hansen
From a young age, César Vargas‘ mother Teresa Galindo, 72, taught him that hard work pays off. “She was always selling food on the street, babysitting and recycling bottles,” he recalls of his single mother raising him and hi…

Publication

SI Live

After being awarded $200K, this NYC community activist will help undocumented military with immigration challenges

“The country I fought so hard to serve in uniform is still leaving many, including my own family, in the shadows.⁠”
Cesar Vargas
2021 David Prize Winner

Publication

NY Mag

César Vargas Just Became New York’s First Undocumented Lawyer

By Cristian Farias
June 5, 2015
After a nearly three-year wait, a five-judge panel in New York ruled this week that César Vargas — a native of Mexico and longtime New Yorker — can be admitted to practice law in the state he’s called home since he was 5, eve…
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