Jose Antonio Vargas - Pulitzer Prize Winning Illegal Alien

Report # 171 Written by IllegalAlienReport.com on 7/6/2011 11:32:45 AM

Category: Theft and Fraud

Location: Unknown

City: New York

State/Territory: New York

Country: United States

More Information: True Confessions of Jose Vargas

Jose Antonio Vargas got sick of lying about himself and decided to come out of the closet as an illegal alien in a New York Times article. Vargas said that his mother shipped him here from the Philippines in the early 90s. After finding out at the age of 16 that his Green Card and passports were fake he did everything he could to stay in the country and now he is trying to use his story in an effort to change immigration laws so that he can stay.

During his time in the closet Vargas resorted to a combination of luck, his self described "underground railroad" support network, and crime to make money while staying in America. As luck had it he picked a profession that rewards skill over all else to the point where he rarely had to worry about being discovered through any sort of background check, so he was able to get jobs or internships as a journalist at The Washington Post, New Yorker Magazine, Rolling Stone Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Huffington Post, Philadelphia Daily News, and Mountain View Voice simply by providing what appeared to be legitimate documents. His "underground railroad" consisting of his grandfather along with academic and professional associates including Peter Pearl at The Washington Post, his high school principal Pay Hyland, choir instructor Jill Denny, school superintendent Rich Fischer, Jim Strand, and Mary Moore helped Vargas by overlooking his immigration status, helping him avoid scenarios where his illegal status could be detected, and in some cases helping him acquire false documents. In 2003 Fischer, Strand, and Moore helped his get an Oregon driver's license under false pretenses by sending mail to a Portland address for him to use as proof of address. The proof of address in conjunction with a social security card he had doctored to make him look like a citizen proved to be enough to get the driver's license.

Since obtaining the Oregon driver's license Vargas has accomplished a lot. He became a highly regarded journalist having interviewed Al Gore, Mark Zuckerberg, covering presidential elections, and winning a Pulitzer Prize. Still he realized that there is nothing he can do short of going back to The Philippines and accepting a 10 year ban from America to become a legal resident. In his frustration he decided to come out of the closet as an illegal alien and start advocating for change both socially and legally. He started a movement called "Define American" that seeks to convince Americans to define an American in such a way that he would qualify as one.

In the video below you can see Vargas doing a You Tube bit like "Jaywalking", but with an illegal alien instead of Jay Leno. In it he goes around asking everyday people to define Americans and tell him what they think about him being an illegal alien.

Vargas "Jaywalking" in New York

Comment	Date	Posted By
He isn't that bad as far as illegal aliens go. Personally, I have a bigger problem with the 10 year mandatory ban than I do with him. Jose is a perfect example of how mandatory banishment like that increases the number of illegal aliens here because if it were more like 1 year he probably would be back here legally by now, but instead he is an illegal alien afraid of being banished for a decade. I know its the law, but if laws were perfect they would not be made by the government.	2/21/2012	IllegalAlienReport.com
I dont see any problem with him. He is not a criminal and he has done a lot. I dont care his legal status. I support people who are in this country and they contribute to the uniqueness of what United States is all about.	7/20/2011	Boricualove

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