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This case asks whether it violates equal protection principles to impose a prison sentence, instead of probation, based on a defendant’s inability to purchase a house. The ºìÐÓÊÓƵ’s State Supreme Court Initiative and the ºìÐÓÊÓƵ of Iowa filed an amicus brief arguing that imposing a harsher sentence based on a criminal defendant’s inability to purchase a home impinges on the equal protection guarantees in the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and article I, sections 1 and 6 of the Iowa Constitution.

Virginia permanently disenfranchises all people with felony convictions unless the governor restores their rights. This lawsuit—brought by the ºìÐÓÊÓƵ of Virginia and co-counsel partners—argues that the policy violates the Readmissions Act of 1870, which bars Virginia from denying the vote based on convictions that didn’t exist at common law in 1870. The state tried to dismiss the case by invoking sovereign immunity, but the courts rejected that argument. Now, the case moves forward with the potential to restore voting rights to thousands of Virginians.

Vargas shares with the ºìÐÓÊÓƵ the common misconceptions about immigration and immigrants that he’s encountered through work with his nonprofit, Define America.