Feature on Jose Antonio Vargas– Speaker at UHS
He began his talk without a glitzy introduction presenting his numerous accomplishments and awards — which include the much coveted Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting — but with a surprisingly modest apology. “Sorry guys,” Vargas began “This is a bit too early for me and I went to bed at 3 a.m. last night, so questions from you guys will be very helpful.”
And while indeed Vargas was showered with questions roughly 45 minutes later when his presentation came to a close, during his presentation itself, the auditorium full of tired, hormonal teenager eagerly anticipating a short half day miraculously listened spell bound to Vargas’ story of discovery, self-doubt, and ultimately acceptance of his status in the United States of America as undocumented citizen.
Moving to the U.S. from the Philippines when he was 12 years old, Vargas had no idea that he was living in the U.S. without a valid green card, a discovery he made at age 16 when he tried to get a driver’s license and after having his green card closely scrutinized, was curtly told “this is fake, don’t come back here.”
“I was shocked. For the rest of my freshman year and into the summer, I was very mad at my mother and grandparents” remembered Vargas on the discovery a full 15 years later. “I felt very much lied to.”
After a teacher told him he “asked too many questions,” Vargas attended a journalism camp during his sophomore year. There, he was introduced to his eventual ticket out of the lifetime of low level jobs, and the eventual green card producing marriage that his family envisioned for him. “That may have been their plan,” mused Vargas, “but not mine. If not for journalism, I don’t know how I would have turned out.”
Becoming an avid reader after his introduction to journalism in camp, Vargas, who previously viewed reading as an activity reserved “only for white people,” swallowed down any book or magazine he could get his hands on, an activity that he attributes his early growth as writer to. Soon, Vargas was compiling a list of everything he wanted to do in life, and, according to Vargas, “by the time I was 30 I had accomplished every single thing on that list.”
However, no part of it was easy. After pursuing a Bachelor of Arts San Francisco State University where Vargas supported entirely by the goodwill of a venture capitalist and being offered a job at the Washington Post, Vargas finally got his drivers license from Oregon, at age 22. It was his first (and only) official government document in the United States, and that one card enabled him to do everything from attend dinners in the White House to follow the 2008 Republican campaign trail. “Sarah Palin was something else” remembered Vargas wryly.
Coming out about his undocumented status two years ago, Vargas has become a major advocate for reform on the immigration issue in the United States, because, as Vargas puts it himself, “there is nothing worse than being in the U.S.A. and thinking small.”
He has appeared on a range of talk shows, from the Colbert Report to a small town radio show in Alabama, where prior to meeting Vargas, the radio host tweeted “when this guy comes lets arrest him.” Vargas has thrown himself at the issue of immigration and the plight of undocumented citizens because, as he says, “immigration is such a key issue in our country, and the sad thing is we don’t try to think about it in new ways anymore. Nothing breaks my heart more than the thought of all the undocumented teens in our country who have simply succumbed to their fear and have just given up, internalizing their identity and place in life as ‘illegal…’ it is for that reason that the term ‘illegal’ should not be used in discussions regarding immigration in this country, because… the only difference between me and you is a Social Security number and a slip of paper.”
Vargas’ talk seemed to really hit a chord for many in the audience, undocumented or documented, and the minutes before the bell rang, dismissing the enraptured listeners back to class was filled with somber and serious discussion and reflection on the issue of immigration and Vargas’ amazing life story.
One student, who asked not to be named due to the student’s undocumented status, told the Echo that, “it really hit deep in a lot of people. Even if some of us are not going through what Vargas was talking about now, we all will at some point or another, and needless to say, this talk was very inspirational.”
Another student, who also asked not to be named, told the Echo that, “Although I am a legal resident myself, I feel like I have been through a lot of the stuff Vargas has been through, as I have many family members and friends who are undocumented. Despite my status, sometimes I feel that I am undocumented as well due to the way people treat you sometimes, the way they look at you. Sadly, this extends to the police and government as well… It can get really tough, and Vargas’ speech was very helpful for me and many others that I know, both at his speech and not.”
Concluding his presentation, Vargas told the crowd “my number one point here is that you cannot afford to give up on yourself, undocumented or not, because the rest of the world will for you. Your whole life, people will be telling you no, and closing doors in your face, so it is crucial that you say yes to yourself… I knew when I was 16 that I had to start preparing to take care of myself when I grew up, because the truth is, that begins now.”
It is unlikely that those who had the privilege to see Vargas’ lecture on October 26 are likely to forget him and his amazing story of perseverance, blind luck, and eventual triumph in the face of all adversity for a long time.
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how did vargas remained in the united states without being caught?
I will see if we can get an answer to this posted.