Vargas, Juan, 1961-

<p>Juan Carlos Vargas (born March 7, 1961) is an American businessman and politician who has been the U.S. Representative for California's 51st congressional district since 2013. The district includes all of Imperial County as well as the southernmost portions of San Diego County.</p>

<p>Vargas previously served as a Democratic member in the California State Senate representing the 40th district, the California State Assembly representing the 79th district, and the San Diego City Council.</p>

<p>Juan Vargas was born on a chicken ranch in National City, California, where he grew up very poor. He is the third of ten children of Tomas and Celina Vargas, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the late 1940s as part of the Bracero program. Vargas graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA from University of San Diego and earned an MA in Humanities from Fordham University in New York City.</p>

VARGAS, Juan, a Representative from California; born in National City, San Diego County, Calif., March 7, 1961; B.A., University of San Diego, San Diego, Calif., 1983; M.A., Fordham University, Bronx, N.Y., 1987; J.D., Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1991; lawyer; business executive; member of the San Diego, Calif., city council, 1993-2000; member of the California state assembly, 2000-2006; member of the California state senate, 2010-2012; unsuccessful candidate for nomination to the One Hundred Third Congress in 1993, One Hundred Fifth Congress in 1996, and One Hundred Tenth Congress in 2006; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Thirteenth and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 2013-present).

<p>Congressman Juan Vargas was raised on a chicken ranch in National City, in California’s 51st District. He is one of ten children, born to his parents, Tomas and Celina Vargas on March 7, 1961. His father, Tomas, immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the late 1940s as part of the Bracero Program which brought millions of Mexican guest workers to the United States on short-term, primarily agricultural labor contracts, as part of a series of bi-lateral agreements between Mexico and the United States. Through the Bracero Program, Tomas became a legal resident and Juan’s mother, Celina, went on to earn her U.S. Citizenship.</p>

<p>Taught the value of hard work by his parents, Juan attained impressive academic credentials. He attended the University of San Diego on scholarship, graduated Magna Cum Laude receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1983. In 1987, Juan earned a Master of Humanities from Fordham University in New York City and in 1991 earned a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School, where he was a classmate of President Barack Obama.</p>

<p>As a young adult, Juan entered the Jesuits, a Catholic religious order, where he worked with disadvantaged communities, including orphaned children and internally displaced people in the jungles of El Salvador. For years, his work with the Jesuits focused on the health and welfare of children and issues of social justice.</p>