Jose Antonio Vargas, an immigrant rights activist and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist has made a documentary that is all about his own experiences as an undocumented immigrant in the United States. He has now sold the rights to his documentary, named “Documented”, to CNN.
This film on immigration tells the story of how Vargas was brought to America when he was a minor. He was brought to the United States at the age of 12 from the Philippines and was brought up in California.
Jose Antonio Vargas got into the United States illegally to live with his grandparents. He realized that he was an undocumented immigrant only at the age of 16. He was able to gain college admission with the aid of family and the school administrators. He also managed to get a driver’s license. Vargas then started to work at The Washington Post as a reporter where he was a part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize.
Vargas revealed that he is an undocumented immigrant in 2011 and began filming his documentary. He aimed at documenting his experiences and also wanted to tell the stories of several other children who were brought to the country illegally.
According to Vargas, children who were brought to the country illegally would benefit from a path to permanent resident status, under the DREAM Act. He says that his film would change the minds of people and it has also got the potential to change the country’s immigration policy. He has spent two years documenting his experiences.
Vargas who is a journalist, changed his focus to immigration reform and is heading the immigration advocacy group, Define American. He has also planned to launch a campaign when the CNN releases his film in the spring of 2014. He says that immigration is an American story and not just a political or a Latino issue.