Immigrant Lacking Legal Status May Work as Lawyer, New York Court Rules

By LIZ ROBBINS 

Cesar Vargas in Washington in 2013. “This 

is a precedent I wanted to make," Mr. Vargas said.

 

Credit Drew Angerer for The New York Times

  Cesar Vargas, a Mexican-born New Yorker, became the first immigrant in the state without legal status to be approved to work as a lawyer after an appellate court granted his application to the bar.

 

“This wasn’t just about one person; this was about countless other students across New York State and across the country,” Mr. Vargas said. “This is a precedent I wanted to make. I think this is really great momentum that is going to extend to other policies.”

Mr. Vargas, who has been granted the deferred action allowing him to work, is the third unauthorized immigrant lawyer to become eligible to practice law after court decisions in California and Florida in 2014.