Jose Antonio Vargas Event article on “Daily”
For many, coming out is a one-time experience. Jose Antonio Vargas, a journalist who identifies as a gay undocumented immigrant, endured the experience twice.
“As far as I’m concerned, my coming out — by the way, I’m done coming out — is what I consider an all-hands-on-deck moment in which all of us play a role,” he told an audience at Kane Hall last night.
Last year, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist wrote an essay for The New York Times Magazine declaring his status as an undocumented immigrant. The work recounted his experiences in America after coming from the Philippines as a child. The essay was the start of his advocacy work to promote change in the nation’s immigration system.
The Social Work Immigration Alliance (SWIA) at the UW School of Social Work hosted the event. SWIA aims to create a dialogue about immigration rights and reform in the United States, and the group worked for almost a year to bring Vargas to UW, according to member James Le. Le was happy with the number of people, which he estimated at 300 or 400, who showed up to hear Vargas speak.
For what is typically a serious topic, Vargas made heavy use of humorous anecdotes.
“One of my best memories was in sixth grade singing the national anthem for the first time,” he said. “I thought it said, ‘Oh Jose, can you see.’ So I was like, ‘Oh my god, they’re so friendly here — I just got here and my name is in the national anthem!’”
Vargas wove his personal experiences in with statistics about the broader immigration debate. He told the audience that an estimated 12 million people living in the United States are currently undocumented, and 2 million of those are students in primary and secondary schools.
“We simply do not know the facts when it comes to immigration,” he said. “So here are some numbers: 11.2 billion is the amount of money paid in state and local taxes by people like me just in 2010. By the way, I have paid so much in taxes, that I should be a Republican.”
The journalist wasn’t all jokes, however — though he described his experiences talking to immigration reform opponents in the South.
“After telling them about that $11.2 billion dollars in taxpayer money, I’m not quite sure that the facts are going to convince them about anything,” he said. “There’s something deeper than that.”
These more somber words resonated with seniors Marcus Ramirez and Donelyn Rollolazo, who came to hear Vargas speak after a friend encouraged them to learn more about the immigration debate.
“A lot of people do have that immigration story, but it isn’t always heard,” Rollolazo said. “It made me cry, this talk about immigration stories and the hardships of becoming a citizen. It’s what my grandparents went through, but we never talk about it.”
Ramirez also found a personal connection in Vargas’ story.
“A lot of my family from the Philippines are still coming here to America and I’m not completely sure whether they’re illegal or not, but this really provoked me to find their story,” he said. “Especially because this is so close to home.”
Reach reporter Maddie Davis at news@dailyuw.com.
Twitter: @davismadeline
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credits to Jonathan Groat
