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Press Releases

December 4, 2020

Washington, D.C. (December 4, 2020)— The House and Senate have agreed to include Rep. Vargas' (CA-51) bill, H.R. 502 Fight Illicit Networks and Detect (FIND) Trafficking Act, in this year's National Defense Authorization Act.

 

Virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin, can be used for legal purchases. However, the anonymity associated with virtual currencies has led them to become a preferred financial payment method for criminal organizations.

 


November 23, 2020

Washington, D.C. (November 19, 2020) – Speaker Nancy Pelosi named Rep. Vargas (CA-51) to serve on a conference committee of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

 

NDAA conferees from the House and Senate will work together to resolve the key differences between the two defense authorization bills passed by each chamber this summer.

 


November 19, 2020

Washington, DC (November 19, 2020) –  Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-51) released the following statement after joining Rep. Ruiz (CA-36) as an original cosponsor of H.R. 8775, the Salton Sea Public Health and Environmental Protection Act. The legislation would bring significant federal funding to the Salton Sea while streamlining projects; increasing coordination between local, state, and federal officials; and holding federal agencies accountable to their commitments at the Salton Sea.

 


November 16, 2020

Washington, D.C. (November 16, 2020) – Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-51) released the following statement after a federal judge ruled that Chad Wolf was unlawfully appointed as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acting secretary. Subsequently, DHS lacked the authority to limit DACA applications and renewals.

 

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the means in which the Trump administration ended DACA was illegal under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).

 


October 28, 2020

Washington, D.C. (October 28, 2020)— The National Park Service (NPS) will undertake a reconnaissance survey to recognize the national significance of Chicano Park and its murals as an affiliated area of the National Park System.


October 14, 2020

Washington, D.C. (October 14, 2020) – Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-51) released the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to grant the administration's request to halt Census counting before October 31. 

 


October 6, 2020

Imperial County, CA (October 6, 2020) Rep. Juan Vargas released the following statement after sending a letter to the Imperial County Board of Supervisors updating them on important legislation on the New River and Salton Sea. The letter also highlights collaboration opportunities to address cross border pollution at a local, state and federal level.


September 26, 2020

Washington, D.C. (September 26, 2020) – Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-51) released a statement following his tour of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia, alongside Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) members and members of the House Judiciary Committee. The tour comes after multiple immigrant women in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody were allegedly coerced into undergoing medical procedures, including hysterectomies.


September 25, 2020
Washington, D.C. (September 25, 2020) Rep. Juan Vargas released the following statement after sending a letter to the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) in response to the latest spill of untreated water into the New River, which occurred on Friday, September 18, 2020. Nearly one million gallons of cross border sewage was released into the New River. The New River begins in Mexico and flows northward into the United States through the County of Imperial and connects to the Salton Sea.

September 17, 2020

Washington, D.C. (September 17, 2020) – Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-51) released the following statement after a nurse, employed at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility, filed a whistleblower complaint stating that immigrant women in ICE custody were coerced into undergoing medical procedures, including hysterectomies.