MIRA Blog
MIRA advocates for the rights and opportunities of immigrants and refugees. In partnership with its members, MIRA advances this mission through policy analysis and advocacy, institutional organizing, training and leadership development, and strategic communications.
“Over the past 14 years, I’ve graduated from high school and college and built a career as a journalist, interviewing some of the most famous people in the country. On the surface, I’ve created I’ve a good life. I’ve lived the American dream.
But I am still an undocumented immigrant. And that means living a different kind of reality. It means going about my day in fear of being found out. It means rarely trusting people, even those closest to me, with who I really am. It means keeping my family photos in a shoebox rather than displaying them on shelves in my home, so friends don’t ask about them. It means reluctantly, even painfully, doing things I know are wrong and unlawful. “
The previous excerpt is from Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas’ confession to being an undocumented immigrant. He talks about his anxiety over using fake documents; fear over applying to scholarships, internships and jobs; and anger at his family for never telling him before he was 16.
Despite his undocumented status, Vargas never let that get in the way of his dreams. And now that he’s announced this in The New York Times Magazine, it’ll be unclear what will happen to him.
It’s interesting that a week before Vargas admitted his secret, the Director of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement sent out a memo reminding ICE officials to use good judgment in the prosecution of immigrants. Director Morton presents 19 factors and some clear indicators of when ICE officials should stop and think if their case is worth pursuing. The ICE memo is a step in the right direction albeit small, advocating for immigration officials to look at undocumented immigrants as humans, not just another case. Thus, comprehensive immigration is still the best solution. In the meantime, the Obama administration can still offer relief to all-American immigrants like Jose.
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