Juan Vargas

Protesters chant during a demonstration against President Donald Trump’s use of El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, prison for people deported from the U.S. The protest was outside the Embassy of El Salvador in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

Opinion: Trump istration’s hostility to due process is un-American

May 6, 2025 at 6:12 a.m.

As a young adult, I entered the Jesuits, a Catholic religious order, where among other missions, I worked with orphaned children and internally displaced people in El Salvador during their...

San Diego, CA - May 01: Brigette Browning speaks during a protest for hospitality workers to make a minimum wage of $25/Hour at San Diego Bayfront Park on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Opinion: Ignore los espectaculos secundarios y de a Chavez una posicion justa en un puesto mas alto en el condado de San Diego

May 17, 2024 at 9:27 p.m.

Vargas ha representado a la región fronteriza de San Diego en la Cámara de Representantes desde 2013.Esta semana, me uní a una docena de líderes electos latinos del sur del...

Ignore sideshows and give Chavez fair consideration for top San Diego County job

May 14, 2024 at 12:17 a.m.

Vargas has represented the San Diego border region in the House of Representatives since 2013.This week, I ed a dozen South County Latino/a elected leaders to call on county Board of...

Photographs of Israelis believed to have been kidnapped by Hamas gunmen outside the offices of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, in Tel Aviv on Oct. 15, 2023. With a military rescue seen as unlikely, diplomatic efforts led by the United States and Qatar are seen by many officials as the best option to save Israeli hostages being held in Gaza. (Tamir Kalifa/The New York Times)

Juan Vargas: Israel has a right and duty to defend itself against Hamas’ barbarism

October 22, 2023 at 8:44 p.m.

Editor’s note: Readers are cautioned that a hyperlink in the third paragraph of this essay goes to highly graphic video of deadly violence provided by the Israeli Ministry of Public...

Chula Vista, CA - July 26:
More than 50 demonstrators earlier listened to speakers and poetry and marched in front of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection - San Diego Border Patrol Sector Headquarters on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 in Chula Vista, CA. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Don’t let Border Patrol ruin Friendship Park, a treasure of the San Diego-Tijuana region

February 3, 2023 at 7:42 p.m.

Vargas has represented the San Diego border region in the House of Representatives since 2013.The Friends of Friendship Park are dedicated of the community who advocate tirelessly for the...

TIJUANA, BAJA CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 23: Traffic into SanYsidro from Tijuana is backed up well past Colonia Buena Vista - about five miles from the border which makes it an approximately seven plus hour wait to cross. Several Ready lanes have been blocked off for traffic at San Ysidro Border Crossing on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020 in Tijuana, Baja California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

U.S.-Mexico border reopening is part of our region’s recovery but requires clear guidance

November 6, 2021 at 1:57 a.m.

Vargas has represented the 51st Congressional District, including the entire California-Mexico border, since 2013. He has also represented the San Diego border region at the state and local level. He...

San Diego, CA - March 27:
At San Diego Convention Center on Saturday, March 27, 2021 in San Diego, CA., elected officials who were given a tour of the temporary youth shelter at the center, that will be capable of sheltering up to 1450 girls between the ages of 13-17. The girls will be separated in sleeping areas that will host up to 50-girls per pod. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Rep. Vargas: I asked the girls at the convention center what they wanted most. Here’s what they said.

April 2, 2021 at 10:51 p.m.

Vargas has represented the 51st Congressional District in California since 2013.America has always been a sanctuary for people fleeing persecution, violence and famine. President Joe Biden was following this noble...

Rep. Juan Vargas on U.S. Capitol riot: This was a concerted attack, incited by the president to bully Congress

January 8, 2021 at 8:17 p.m.

I am here in the Capitol Hill Complex with my staff where we have been asked to “shelter in place.” My feelings are a mixture of disbelief and anger.When I...

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