(Image Source: Ryan Pfluger/The New York Times)
BY MEGAN NOE
ANCHOR ANA COMPAIN-ROMERO
You're watching multisource U.S. news analysis from Newsy.
Jose Antonio Vargas has interviewed Mark Zuckerberg, covered presidential politics, and even won a Pulitzer Prize with the Washington Post. But on Wednesday, Vargas made a shocking revelation-- he did it all as an undocumented immigrant.
Vargas first told his tale in The New York Times Magazine.
“One day when I was 16, I rode my bike to the nearby D.M.V. office to get my driver’s permit. Some of my friends already had their licenses, so I figured it was time. But when I handed the clerk my green card as proof of U.S. residency, she flipped it around, examining it. ‘This is fake,’ she whispered. ‘Don’t come back here again.’”
Why come clean now? In an interview airing Thursday on ABC World News, Vargas says he wants to fight for the DREAM act, which would let children brought to the U.S. illegally stay if they enroll in college or join the military.
“In my heart I’m an American. I am one of many, many people. And we are not who you think we are. We don’t just mow your lawns, and babysit your kids, and serve you tacos. We do that, we do a really good job doing that, but we do other things. And we are a part of this society.”
Some, like an American Prospect blogger, are praising Vargas’ decision.
“That Vargas’s story, told in such detail, will reach so many people is really important for demonstrating the pain caused by our immigration system in a way face-less statistics cannot.”
But not all bloggers are as happy.
“He's a good American and we're lucky to have him. But he has to be a legal one or the entire system collapses and it just becomes a good ol' boy network based on who has money or friends in the right places. That is exactly what immigration policy is supposed to prevent.”
The Atlantic Wire says though Vargas’ public exposure will likely make U.S. immigration reluctant to deport him, his revelation could have legal and professional ramifications.
“Now working as a staff reporter or even a freelancer will be much more difficult. ‘You can't hire an independent contractor knowing he's undocumented,’ [an immigration attorney] tells The Atlantic Wire.”
Besides legal risks, Vargas has sparked a discussion about journalistic ethics. An NPR blogger asks whether Vargas’ actions bring into question his credibility as a reporter.
“According to the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics, journalists should ‘abide by the same high standards to which they hold others.’”
Regardless of the consequences, Vargas has completed one goal, expressed on his new website, DefineAmerican.com-- starting a conversation.
“What would you do if you were a choir teacher and found out that a student in your glee club can’t travel for a competition? What would you do if you were a high school principle who found out that one of your students can’t apply for financial aid? What would you do if your child’s best friend didn’t have papers?”
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