Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, filmmaker and immigration rights activist Jose Antonio Vargas challenged journalists on Tuesday “to think about words and how to use them” in terms of how they report on undocumented immigrants in the United States.
As part of the University of Massachusetts journalism department’s series, “Social Science Matters: Perspectives on Migration,” Vargas gave a lecture on his experiences as an undocumented immigrant and what it means to be an American citizen, beyond just being born in the country.
In the Student Union, Vargas kicked off his lecture by retelling the story of his decision to attend President Trump’s first joint session of Congress.
“I am not going to allow a president to scare me from my own country,” said Vargas, who moved from the Philippines to the US at the age of 12. At the age of 16, he discovered that his immigration papers were fraudulent and that he had immigrated to the US illegally.
In 2011, Vargas “outed” himself in his New York Times article, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant.” Vargas was surprised, though, to find that no news outlets reacted to this piece, he recalled.
So, in a bold move, he outed himself to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At the time, Vargas was writing a cover story for Time magazine on the experiences of undocumented immigrants. He asked ICE for comments on his undocumented immigrant status, to which they refused to give him a comment.
Vargas said, in that moment it had occurred to him, “No comment was an apt metaphor for undocumented immigrants.”
In his lecture, Vargas also discussed in length the term “illegal immigrant,” a label he argues dehumanizes undocumented immigrants. He spoke too on his personal media campaign #WordsMatter, which serves as a pledge for allies of undocumented immigrants to stop using this term in newspapers and the media.
“Words matter because facts matter,” Vargas said.
In terms of facts, Vargas elaborated on the facts of undocumented immigration in the US, for they are too often times misconstrued, according to him.
He presented data showing that undocumented immigrants commit less crimes than native-born Americans and that illegal border crossing is at the lowest it has been since the 90s.
In response to the millions of undocumented immigrants living inside of the US, Vargas said, “Our existence is not defined by our legality.”
The concept of legality, Vargas explained, is a construct of power, referencing that slavery, lynching and the Holocaust were all legalized by the immoral individuals who held power during those times.
Toward the end of the lecture, Vargas spoke about his mentors Marcia Davis, an editor at The Washington Post where Vargas first worked as an intern and then as a writer, and Peter Perl, another Washington Post editor and a personal mentor. Both encouraged Vargas to keep writing despite his undocumented status. He mentioned that the two of them are one of the reasons why he is in the position of success he is in today.
Vargas then moved on to talk about citizenship, recalling his most recent television appearance on the “O’Reilly Factor,” where Bill O’Reilly told Vargas at one point, “You and the other people here illegally don’t deserve to be here.”
In response to this comment, Vargas then described another form of citizenship, “a citizenship of participation,” where immigrants become citizens by working and participating in their country.
“Citizenship is knowing our own equalities are tied within one another,” said Vargas.
Despite his 24 years of living in the US, Vargas mentioned that he will never be able to become a documented American citizen due to the fact that he has lied about being a documented citizen in the past. However, Vargas spoke about the importance of citizenship and how individuals born in the US should not take it for granted.
“Citizenship is more than what you are. It’s what you practice being,” he said.
Alvin Buyinza can be reached at [email protected] and on twitter @abuyinza_news.
He is an illegal immigrant, not an American. In order to become an american citizen you need to be naturalized.
Also there is a large myth over what would happen if illegal immigrants are deported which in my opinion they should all be and the u.s should have an intolerant stance towards illegal immigrants and immigrants who are repeat or serious criminal offenders.
The myth is that they will face some “injustice” or “harm”; ignoring the counter-argument that harm was brought to our society by their actions and behaviors; when illegals get deported they can be given benefits by their host country. In the case of Mexican illegal immigrants, after they are deported and in Mexico, the Mexican government gives them welfare so they can support themselves.
Illegal Immigrants were not forced to come to the U.S like slaves! Illegal Aliens should stop using Black American History to justify their criminal illegal behavior. African Americans contributed to the U.S performed first heart Surgery, Created the Cotton gin, street lights, help create the telephone, electricity and more! Illegal immigrants cost this country $113 Billion a year and pay $13 Billion in taxes a year. Illegal Aliens steal U.S Citizens IDs, SSN or obtain fraudlent IDS. They lower U,S workers wages and take jobs from legal residences. They come across the border to have anchor babies to get welfare and strain U.S resources. I have not found one thing an illegal has done that has helped the U.S . They keep demanding more U.S tax dollars wanting Obamacare and in state tuition that they are not legally entitled to . They are a drain on U.S taxpayers over crowding schools costing more to educate than citizens.
All Illegal Aliens should be deported ASAP and stop lying about how they contribute because cleaning a toliet or picking a crop does Not MAKE AMERICA GREAT !
People who respect U.S laws and come to the U.S Legally not looking for hand outs makes America Great !
elizabeth • Apr 14, 2017 at 9:36 am
He is an illegal immigrant, not an American. In order to become an american citizen you need to be naturalized.
Also there is a large myth over what would happen if illegal immigrants are deported which in my opinion they should all be and the u.s should have an intolerant stance towards illegal immigrants and immigrants who are repeat or serious criminal offenders.
The myth is that they will face some “injustice” or “harm”; ignoring the counter-argument that harm was brought to our society by their actions and behaviors; when illegals get deported they can be given benefits by their host country. In the case of Mexican illegal immigrants, after they are deported and in Mexico, the Mexican government gives them welfare so they can support themselves.
Dee B • Apr 12, 2017 at 10:38 am
Illegal Immigrants were not forced to come to the U.S like slaves! Illegal Aliens should stop using Black American History to justify their criminal illegal behavior. African Americans contributed to the U.S performed first heart Surgery, Created the Cotton gin, street lights, help create the telephone, electricity and more! Illegal immigrants cost this country $113 Billion a year and pay $13 Billion in taxes a year. Illegal Aliens steal U.S Citizens IDs, SSN or obtain fraudlent IDS. They lower U,S workers wages and take jobs from legal residences. They come across the border to have anchor babies to get welfare and strain U.S resources. I have not found one thing an illegal has done that has helped the U.S . They keep demanding more U.S tax dollars wanting Obamacare and in state tuition that they are not legally entitled to . They are a drain on U.S taxpayers over crowding schools costing more to educate than citizens.
All Illegal Aliens should be deported ASAP and stop lying about how they contribute because cleaning a toliet or picking a crop does Not MAKE AMERICA GREAT !
People who respect U.S laws and come to the U.S Legally not looking for hand outs makes America Great !
Esteban • Apr 12, 2017 at 10:29 am
Why has this guy not been captured yet?