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July 16, 2014

Journalist, Undocumented Activist Jose Vargas Detained at Texas Airport Checkpoint 
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One of the country's best-known undocumented immigrants has been
released following his detention at a Texas airport. Jose Antonio
Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, first came to the United
States from the Philippines in 1993. In 2011, he became a leading
undocumented activist after revealing his status in a widely read essay.
Vargas had recently traveled to the Texas border to document the crisis
of thousands of immigrant children from Central America fleeing poverty
and violence. But he says he soon realized he might have trouble leaving
with just his Philippines passport due to the heavy presence of Border
Patrol agents and checkpoints. On Tuesday, as he attempted to fly to
Houston en route to Los Angeles, Vargas was arrested by immigration
authorities for the first time in his life and held for most of the day.
As the whole country watched, the Department of Homeland Security
eventually released Vargas, saying he did not have a prior record, and
their priority was to remove "criminal individuals." He has been given a
notice to appear before an immigration judge.

 

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