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Jose Antonio Vargas (@joseiswriting) * Instagram photos and videos

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Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has a California elementary school named in his honor, embodies what we hold dear in the pursuit of the American dream.

He's a hard-working writer, filmmaker and producer who came to this country from the Philippines, grew up in California and fell in love with words and writers such as Toni Morrison, James Baldwin and Maya Angelou.

He made something of himself, and he made his family proud.

His is a life of fame and glory, with one exception - he's living in the U.S. without documentation. That makes him one the nation's estimated 12 million who live in the shadows - born elsewhere and, some would say, with no rights to the American dream.

Vargas recently spoke at the University of Houston College of Education's First Lecture, sharing the story of his journey and inspiring faculty, staff and students to continue shaping the true narrative of the immigrant experience. Immigrants are firmly planted in the fabric of this country, not only Latinos but also Black, Asian and white people. Nearly 800 guests attended the event.

"I would not have had a career in journalism if I didn't have teachers who wanted to teach and mentors who didn't ask me for green cards or passports," he said. "Teachers and educators are in many ways bridges to that cultural reckoning that needs to happen."

Vargas' first book, "Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen," was published in 2018. His second, "White Is Not a Country," will be out next year. He also is founder of Define American, a non-profit culture-change organization focused on humanizing stories of immigrants in news, entertainment and digital media.

With a raw vulnerability, he revealed his immigration status in a New York Times Magazine essay, " My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant," in 2011. It catapulted him from the shadows to his position as a voice for immigrants; he became an in-demand speaker on immigration issues.

"Jose is redefining what it means to be American," said Ruth López, assistant professor in UH's Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies whose parents immigrated to U.S. "He's redefining the narrative that we are an integral part of the history of the country and should be treated as human beings and like we belong."

Vargas' mother, who hoped for a better life for her son, gave him a jacket and ushered him off to board a plane in 1993 when he was just 12. He was sent to live in the San Francisco Bay with her parents, who were naturalized citizens. He didn't know until about age 16 when he tried to get a driver's license that his green card - his proof he belonged here - was fake.

"I was a Dreamer, but I was born three months too early for DACA," he said, referring to the Deferred Action for Children Arrivals, which allowed immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children to live and work in the U.S. These children are often called "Dreamers."

The pursuit of U.S. citizenship has been elusive. Vargas is still trying.

"You've got to love America. I'm not here legally, but there's this school named after me," he said.

The school, Jose Antonio Vargas Elementary in Mountain View, Calif., was named in his honor in 2019. Vargas was 38 at the time. He thought it was a joke when he was approached with the idea. It wasn't.

"I realized that I am a product of all these teachers," he said. "The way I speak and write are because of the education system I was given. In a way, having a school named after me is the symbol of what happens when a student gets the support he or she needs."

And support, Vargas said, is what is now needed most for our teachers, especially in Texas, where books by some of his favored authors are being banned and history is being censored.

"Texas for me represents in many ways the battle for the soul of the country, given the historical amnesia that Texans themselves have about their state," he said. "The fact that we're banning books, the fact that we're not wanting to teach history, to me is such a denial of who we are as a country. Educators have in many ways been the first responders against being in denial."

Texas is also where his American dream nearly ended in 2014.

He was attending an immigration-rights event and was arrested and detained in McAllen, where there is a 100-mile border zone in which the federal government has the power to conduct searches without warrants, although the American Civil Liberties Union contends that the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects people from random and arbitrary searches.

He was held for eight hours and released, but his ongoing fight to stay in the country and champion for immigrants in the country illegally has been arduous. Vargas admits he's pondered in years past the idea of self-deporting back to the Philippines. In those moments, he refers back to his favorite Black authors, who often wrote about being fearless under impossible circumstances.

"Because of reading about and being exposed to the history of Black people in this country, I believed that if Black people could survive what they had to survive, why can't I? If I wasn't exposed to Toni Morrison, James Baldwin and Maya Angelou as early as I was, I'm not sure I would have given myself permission to write or to exist. They were the green card. They were the passport."

Though optimistic, Vargas doesn't believe the issues regarding immigrants will get any better any time soon. Educators are the key, he said.

Lopez agreed, "I think public perceptions of immigrants are improving, but the policies are stagnant and divisive. So many people remain without legal status even though they've gotten their education here and made a home here."

The history of this country is shaped by very people who have had to insist on the right to be in this country. It's a history worth telling and retelling.
joy.sewing@chron.com

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Sewing: Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas is the American dream

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has a California elementary school named in his honor, embodies what we hold dear in the pursuit of the American dream.

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FABC 2022 Book Chat: Schedule/Guidelines

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FABC 2022 Book Chat: Schedule/Guidelines

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Official FABC 2022: Book Chat Schedule/Guidelines

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Welcome to the Filipina Authors Book Club Slides by: Cristina E. Vera

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9/3: Pages 1-80
9/10: Pages 81- 154
9/17: Pages 155- 230

Happy Reading!

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Plan on attending/participating? Pin a location (click below FABC Intros link) & share a quick bio!

FABC Intros

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Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and Tony-nominated producer. A leading voice for the human rights of immigrants, he founded the non-profit narrative change organization Define American, named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company.

In 2020, Fortune named him one of its "40 under 40" most influential people in government and politics. His best-selling memoir, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, was published by HarperCollins in 2018. His second book, White Is Not a Country, will be published by Knopf in 2023.

In 2011, the New York Times Magazine published a groundbreaking essay he wrote in which he revealed and chronicled his life in America as an undocumented immigrant. A year later, he appeared on the cover of TIMEworldwide with fellow undocumented immigrants as part of a follow-up cover story he wrote.

Jose produced and directed Documented, an autobiographical documentary feature film that aired on CNN and received a 2015 NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Documentary. Also in 2015, MTV aired White People, an Emmy-nominated television special he produced and directed on what it means to be young and white in a demographically-changing America. In 2019, he co-produced Heidi Schreck’s acclaimed Broadway play What the Constitution Means to Me, which was nominated for a Tony Award for "Best Play" and is streamable on Amazon Prime Video.

Among accolades he has received are the Freedom to Write Award from PEN Center USA and honorary degrees from Emerson College, Colby College, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Passionate about the role of arts in society and promoting equity in education, he serves on the advisory board of TheDream.US, a scholarship fund for undocumented immigrant students.

A product of the San Francisco Bay Area, he is a proud graduate of San Francisco State University ('04), where he was named Alumnus of the Year in 2012, and Mountain View High School ('00). An elementary school named after Vargas opened in his hometown of Mountain View, California in August 2019.

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Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and Tony-nominated producer. A leading voice for the human rights of immigrants, he founded the non-profit media and culture organization Define American, named one of the World's Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company . His best-selling memoir, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, was published by HarperCollins in 2018. Most recently, he co-produced Heidi Schreck's acclaimed Broadway play What the Constitution Means to Me, which was nominated for two 2019 Tony awards, including "Best Play."

In 2011, the New York Times Magazine published a groundbreaking essay he wrote in which he revealed and chronicled his life in America as an undocumented immigrant. A year later, he appeared on the cover of TIME magazine worldwide with fellow undocumented immigrants as part of a follow-up cover story he wrote. He then produced and directed Documented, an autobiographical documentary feature film that aired on CNN and received a 2015 NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Documentary. Also in 2015, MTV aired White People, an Emmy-nominated television special he produced and directed on what it means to be young and white in a demographically-changing America.

Among accolades he has received are the Freedom to Write Award from PEN Center USA and honorary degrees from Emerson College, Colby College, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Passionate about the role of arts in society and promoting equity in education, he serves on the advisory board of TheDream.US, a scholarship fund for undocumented immigrant students.

A product of the San Francisco Bay Area, he is a proud graduate of San Francisco State University ('04), where he was named Alumnus of the Year in 2012, and Mountain View High School ('00). An elementary school named after Vargas opened in his hometown of Mountain View, California in August 2019.

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Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and Tony-nominated producer. A leading voice for the human rights of immigrants, he founded the non-profit media and culture organization Define American, named one of the World's Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company. His best-selling memoir, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, was published by HarperCollins...

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Define American (@defineamerican) • Instagram photos and videos

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Instagram is a simple way to capture and share the world’s moments.

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Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, called “the most famous undocumented immigrant in America,” tackles one of the defining issues of our time in this explosive and deeply personal call to arms.

“This is not a book about the politics of immigration. This book––at its core––is not about immigration at all. This book is about homelessness, not in a traditional sense, but in the unsettled, unmoored psychological state that undocumented immigrants like myself find ourselves in. This book is about lying and being forced to lie to get by; about passing as an American and as a contributing citizen; about families, keeping them together, and having to make new ones when you can’t. This book is about constantly hiding from the government and, in the process, hiding from ourselves. This book is about what it means to not have a home.

After 25 years of living illegally in a country that does not consider me one of its own, this book is the closest thing I have to freedom.”

—Jose Antonio Vargas, from Dear America

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"There are an estimated 258 million migrants around the world, and many of us are migrating to countries that previously colonized and imperialized us. We have a human right to move, and governments should serve that right, not limit it. The unprecedented movement of people - what some call a "global migration crisis" - is, in reality, a natural progression of history. Yes, we are here because we believe in the promise of the American Dream - the search for a better life, the challenge of dreaming big. But we are also here because you were there - the cost of American imperialism and globalization, the impact of economic policies and political decisions."

"Here in the U.S., the language we use to discuss immigration does not recognize the realities of our lives based on conditions that we did not create and cannot control. For the most part, why are white people called "expats" while people of color are called "immigrants"? Why are some people called "expats" while others are called "immigrants"? What's the difference between a "settler" and a "refugee"? Language itself is a barrier to information, a fortress against understanding the inalienable instinct of human beings to move."

More quotes...

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"There are an estimated 258 million migrants around the world, and many of us are migrating to countries that previously colonized and imperialized us. We have a human right to move, and governments should serve that right, not limit it.

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Jose Antonio Vargas - Experiencing a Pandemic While Undocumented | The Daily Social Distancing Show

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What drew you to read Dear America? Had you heard of the author, Jose Antonio Vargas, before reading the book? If so, what was your impression of him before reading the book? Why do you think the author gave the book this particular title? Who is addressing? What is the significance of the fingerprint on the front cover?

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America once prided itself on being “a nation of immigrants.” How has the national view of immigrants and immigration changed since the founding of the nation, and especially over the past fifty years, since the passage of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act? Do you believe that America is (still) a nation of immigrants? Why or why not?

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What does it mean to be an American? What makes an individual a citizen? Who should get to choose who is allowed to become an American and live here and who is not? In learning about Jose, is he any less an American than those who are born here? Why or why not?

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Jose opens Dear America with the words, “I do not know where I will be when you read this book.” What emotion did you experience when you read that sentence?

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Why doesn’t Jose think of himself as an activist? Would you consider writing—perhaps even reading—Dear America as activism?

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Jose explains that the book is not about immigration, but about homelessness. How does he

separate the two? What makes a place a home for someone? What does it mean not to have a home? Do you think you could endure living in limbo—choosing not to put down roots, moving from place to place, fearing that you will be arrested?

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What does it take to survive as an undocumented person in the U.S. today? How has living a lie and hiding shaped the person Jose is and the profession he chose to pursue? How did he pass to those who did not know his secret before he came out as undocumented?

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Jose touches on race in the book. Why is race a charged issue for Americans? Why do many Americans feel the need to identify foremost by race? How do race, nationality, and immigration influence each other?

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How many generations of your family were born in the United States? Do you know when the first generation of your family arrived in America and where they came from? Do you know any immigrants today? Do any live in your town? What are your impressions of them?

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Why do many Americans seem to dislike immigrants, both those who hold green cards and those who are naturalized—and especially those who are undocumented like Jose and the other Dreamers? Do you think America’s immigration laws are too restrictive, or not restrictive enough? Do you know what changes the Trump administration is seeking to our current laws? Or what they are currently doing without new legislation?

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What do you think would happen if we deported all undocumented immigrants in the country (around 11 million, the size of the population of Ohio)? How would we find them and “round them up”? Does the use of language like “rounding up” people remind you of any other time or place in history? If so, how?

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Should Dreamers, who have never known any country but the United States, be deported too, or be allowed a path to citizenship? Why or why not?

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What did you discover about Jose Antonio Vargas from reading Dear America? Did anything you read surprise or shock you? What does his story say about the plight of the millions of other undocumented men, women, and children in the United States today?

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How has reading Dear America affected your opinion about immigration, migration,

citizenship, and being an American? What are some common misconceptions he dispels about “illegal immigrants”? Did you know that the process of citizenship was as difficult as it is?

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Dear America explores how the media often distorts the lives of everyday immigrants. How do your interactions with immigrants compare to what you see in the media? Is America as divided about immigrants as the media says? What is it like in your community?

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Dear America delves into how anti-immigrant hate groups have successfully used mainstream media to legitimize hate speech. How can you combat dehumanizing and inaccurate phrases like “illegal immigrant” or” alien”? What other words do you see the media used to describe immigrants that are dehumanizing?

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n Dear America, the author explores how the media often refers to and quotes

organizations—which the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as hate groups—in order to substantiate the government’s anti-immigrant policies. How can you help hold journalists accountable when quoting sources? Does the media have a responsibility to its audience to avoid citing hate groups in their coverage of immigration? Why or why not?

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What Happens After You Become the ‘Most Famous Undocumented Immigrant in America’

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In his memoir, the journalist Jose Antonio Vargas attempts to tell the story of his own life while recognizing that he’s often viewed as a voice for millions.

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Jose Antonio Vargas, "Dear America" (w/ Jonathan Capehart)

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Informed Immigrant connects the undocumented immigrant community and service providers with the information and resources they need to become empowered in our current political environment.

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The Son of Good Fortune by Lysley Tenorio

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The Son of Good Fortune by Lysley Tenorio

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Great companion book to Dear America

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Amazon.com: The Son of Good Fortune: A Novel: 9780062059574: Tenorio, Lysley: Books