Juan was raised on a chicken ranch in National City, California, a city in the 51st District. He is one of ten children, born to his parents, Tomas and Celina Vargas. Tomas Vargas 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, Juan’s father, Tomas, became a legal resident. Juan’s mother, Celina, went on to earn her U.S. Citizenship.

Juan, along with his brothers and sisters, attained impressive academic credentials. Juan graduated Magna Cum Laude and received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of San Diego, on scholarship. He earned a Master of Humanities from Fordham University, and in 1991, earned a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School, where he and President Barack Obama were classmates.

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. Juan later left the Jesuits in order to pursue family life. Two years later, Juan married Adrienne D’Ascoli and returned to San Diego where he worked as an attorney. Although he enjoyed the practice of law, Juan decided to contribute to his community as a public official serving on the San Diego City Council, and the California State Legislature, before being elected to Congress.

In Congress, he has been appointed to serve on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, including the Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa and the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade; and the Committee on Agriculture, including the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management, and the Subcommittee on Horticulture, Research, Biotechnology and Foreign Agriculture.

The 51st District includes portions of San Diego County and Imperial County, which has an agricultural industry that generated an estimated $1.175 billion in personal income for California families, and an estimated $5.3 billion in total economic impact in 2011. As such, he has a strong commitment to supporting agriculture with a keen focus on ensuring labor shortages are solved using common-sense solutions.