Pulitzer-Winning reporter Jose Antonio Vargas revealed he was an undocumented immigrant in the New York Times article “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” and on ABC News. Since he came to the US at the young age of 12, the Filipino “American” had false documents including a fake green card to conceal the fact that he was an illegal immigrant. He managed to graduated from high school & college and built a career as a journalist with companies like The Washington Post, where he won a Pulitzer Prize for covering the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings. In 2008, he even got access to Hillary Clinton during the Presidential elections. With all the success he’s had in journalism, why whould he reveal this now?

Jose Antonio Vargas couldn’t hide his secret any more and he was inspired by the four students who walked from Miami to Washington to lobby for the Dream Act, where undocumented young people could be eligible for a conditional path to citizenship in exchange for a mandatory two years in higher education or military service. He brings the debate and disicussion about undocumented immigrants to the forefront. It’s unclear what will happen to him now that his secret is out.

He also started a website to fight for immigratn rights. Define American is dedicated to changing the conversation about immigrants in America who are an inexorable part of our communities and our society. Founded by award-winning multimedia journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, Define American harnesses the power of storytelling and social media to bring about greater awareness of and support for immigration reform.

Pulitzer-Winning reporter Jose Antonio Vargas is an undocumented immigrant

Define American