The Dreamers and The Giants: Tech Heads and Tech-Savvy Immigrants Hack for Good
Social network Facebook, Inc. was conceived in a Harvard University dorm room. Brainstorming and evolving ideas among five roommates, one of those men Mark Zuckerberg, led to them striking gold.
CEO & Chairman of Facebook, Zuckerberg, became the second youngest self-made billionaire in 2012; and, the affluent 29-year-old has opted to use that accumulated wealth for good, signing the "Giving Pledge" -a promise to donate 50 percent or more of his wealth to charity; gave millions to Newark Public schools, and gave 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Now, Zuckerberg, who was raised on a suburban lane with mansions and manicured lawns, is teaming up with Carlos Vargas, an immigrant from Mexico, and a number of others for a truly unique venture.
While both, Zuckerberg and Vargas, grew up in a household with three siblings, the restraints of one family in no way mirrored the surpluses of the other. Zuckerberg's well-to-do dentist and psychiatrist parents were able to feed their children's silver-spoon needs. Vargas' mother had to hold down multiple jobs, after illegally crossing the border, to simply ensure that there would be food on her children's plates.
Stellar technological skills and an interest in the progression of immigration reform has united the contrary pair, as they recently used their tech-savvy to host a hackathon in SiliconValley. Internet titans, Dropbox's Drew Houston, Groupon founder Andrew Mason and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, were also present at the event. These men worked alongside techy undocumented kids in a marathon event where programmers collaborated on software projects to help immigrants. The hackathon project occurred just a few months after Zuckerberg appeared in the documentary," Documented," which vocalized his interest in drawing in high-tech individuals from other countries.
The collaboration between the rich and those of significant lesser means allowed them to create a realm of co-dependence where the two groups were able to share resources. The technological juggernauts offered a limitless supply of funds, staff and technological support, and the immigrants offered their own technological know-how and capabilities in engineering.
Vargas was one of the 20 immigrants selected from hundreds of applicants, from across the nation, chosen to take part of the two-day event at the LinkedIn headquarters. The recruitment led to the scouting of some of the brightest coders to develop programming related to immigration.
"It caught me by surprise to be chosen," Vargas said in an interview with Fox News Latino days before his flight to California. "Here I am, and in just a few days, I'm going to be speaking with Mark Zuckerberg about Facebook and immigration. This moment, the hackathon, could be history, we could create something that helps the push for immigration reform."
Vargas arrived in U.S. when he was five years old, and later became a resident of Staten Island, NY. An active member of the Dreamer movement, a community of young immigrants who dismiss anonymity; and, he's helped to change immigration activism by utilizing technology and protesting maltreatment of undocumented citizens through social media. He's also helped to inform the immigrant community of its potential.
"I want to help the immigrant community, I want to do something bigger than for myself," Vargas said. "I want reform for other immigrants, for fathers that got deported. This hackathon, I hope, will be the break that we need, the break that will bring exposure and awareness about the need for immigration reform."
Vargas' early-gained gifts for computers divided him from his peers who were interested in sports and other child/teen related activities. He credits social media for his skills, and his management position with the DRM Action Coalition, advocates for immigration reform. He was able to gain a work permit and driver's license under the Obama administration, which also allocated two years to illegals who arrived as minors to gain citizenship.
The 25-hour hackathon, which included 19 other undocumented dreamers, in addition to Vargas, Zuckerberg and the other tech veterans, produced apps that make it possible for high-profile individuals to share support for immigration reform, and another app that will help educate immigrants on their rights.