Being a culturally diverse person in American society implies that you have ancestors from different countries. I have two ethnically diverse Grandmothers who are legal immigrants turned citizens, and have studied the process for obtaining citizenship status in the United States, which means I can understand and relate somewhat to those who have faced the same struggles coming into the United States. In the article, My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant, by Jose Antonio Vargas, he tells his story of being an illegal immigrant and the struggles that are associated with his situation: his life as a child, struggling with integrating into western culture, his teen years, living a muted life because of his situation, and his adult life, jumping …show more content…
Trouble arose in his 16th year, as he tried to acquire a driver’s license. The D.M.V. informed him that his green card was fake and that he should not return. He then asked his grandfather about it, who told him that the documents were falsified and that they had been purchased so that Mr. Vargas could stay in America. In high-school, Mr. Vargas took hours upon hours watching television, not for the entertainment, but so that he could imitate the accents of the people on television and learn better English. He devoured everything from books, to magazines, to newspapers, trying to learn how to read and write more proficiently. Eventually, Mr. Vargas became working age, which meant he had to get a Social Security Number. He went to the Social Security Administration and using a falsified passport, he was able to get a temporary SSN. He then placed tape over “I.N.S. authorization.” on the card and photocopied it. With this card, he was able to get jobs around the neighborhood like a normal citizen would. He even worked for the local news while still in high-school. Inside school, he publicly announced that he was gay and he also built up a “network” of incredible friends who would help him out very …show more content…
Vargas is an exceptional individual. Although he had many falls, he was able to rise to the occasion and come forward as an honest man, declaring his citizenship status. Unfortunately, Mr. Vargas was deported. He lived the American Dream for most of his life here, and yet, he is unable to stay because of the simple fact that he was not born here. I understand that this man may have done everything right except for his citizenship status. My issue is not with Mr. Vargas himself. He seems to be a man of commendable nature. My issue is with how this article is presented in the textbook, Everyone’s an Author, as if he is the common cover for the magazine of all illegal immigrants. This is obviously not the case, as he is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Sydney Award winner, and Freedom to Write Award for his work as an author. He is a laudable example of an American immigrant. Unfortunately, not all immigrants are this way: Despite the illegal immigrants only being a small percentage of our population(“41 Shocking Illegal Immigration Statistics.”), they make up over twenty percent of the crime in the USA, excluding immigration crimes. That is a fact. (“Non-Citizens Committed a Disproportionate Share of Federal Crimes, 2011-16.”) What I am trying to say, is that the common illegal immigrant to the United States will not be nearly as exceptional as Mr. Vargas. Most illegal immigrants are not here to prove their worth to America or to try and improve America,
Furthermore, in most cases, it may seem the United States has a system in which immigrants are not given the chance to form a bright future. In the novel, “Antonio soon found himself settling for jobs that were clearly beneath him. He stood under the baking sun at the on-ramp to the Santa Monica Freeway, selling oranges for two dollars a bag: a dollar fifty for the guy from the produce market, fifty cents for him,” (Tobar, 53). Many of the immigrants that live in the U.S. have little power that allows them to succeed. Some races have benefitted from it more than others. The Cubans, for instance, have had it much easier than most immigrants who have migrated to the United States; whereas, Antonio, a Guatemalan, had trouble finding a stable job that allowed him to sustain himself. In contrast to many other races, many Americans described Cubans as being visitors who represent, “all phases of life and professions, having an excellent level of education… More than half of their families with them, including children brought from Cuba to escape communist indoctrination in the schools,”
Vargas is really good at drawing the audience in with his emotional description, and his story telling ability. He is able to make the reader understand the struggle of being an undocumented immigrant trying to live in the United States and be happy with who he is. The audience is able to understand each decision that he makes in order to try to keep himself out of trouble, but they could always see the constant fear that he could come crashing down at any given moment if he was found out. It is hard to imagine living in that kind of situation, and Vargas portrays his experience extremely
My story would have never begun if my parents had not made a huge decision in my life, almost 15 years ago. When they decided to move our family across the border, my future would be become unknown. The fate I had been destined to have was completely altered, now, I had the opportunity to change my life for the better, to strive for something bigger. My parents pushed me to be the best I could be, and to work as hard as possible to get what I wanted. As the daughter of two Mexican immigrants I grew up in a very cultural household, and being surrounded by Spanish at all times. The only negative being I had to learn English on my own, and which led to me having some difficulty when I first started school. Yet, growing up in a Spanish speaking
In the essay Outlaw Jose Antonio Vargas reveals his life as an illegal ilmmigrant and sharing the struggles he faced during his career as a journalist. At the age of twelve Vargas migrated to America accompanied by a man who was introduced to him as his uncle. Growing up with his grandparents, he dedicated his time into improving his English. By the time he applied for driving school, Vargas was sixteen and still oblivious to the fact that his green card was a fake; among all other documents his grandfather had purchased. However, Vargas excelled in school in extra-curricular activities and building up a small network of people whom he trusted and confided his secret in.
Correspondingly, Vargas has not only immersed himself into his new culture, but learned to love it as well. He “built a career as a journalist, interviewing some of the most famous people in the country” (Vargas). Even though he is living the American dream, he is also “living a different kind of reality… in fear of being found out (Vargas).” Because of his status, it is hard to live a “normal” life. Even with all he has done to “earn” citizenship, he is still unrecognized as
Discussion post “My life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas. Focus on page 225 second and third paragraph.
Throughout the essay, Vargas references the inner struggle that he had to face day in and day out. The fear of being uncover, the stress behind who can be trusted and what he was able to do. Vargas worked towards gaining a career hoping it would have a positive influence in his legalization status. “It means
Jose Vargas tells the story of his life; from coming to America, finding out that he is residing here illegally, learning how to live with that, and finally to sharing with everyone that he is an undocumented immigrant. Jose has a difficult task in front of him, though. He must win his audience over to his side so that he can further his agenda of developing an easier path for undocumented immigrants to receive citizenship. There are many ways he could go about this, trying to skirt the topic of his illegal activities, but Jose is an intelligent man and knows how to influence his audience. He uses the story of his life to connect with others, and in connecting with them wins them over, even if only indeterminably so. In My Life as an
Vargas explains, “It’s been almost 18 years since I’ve seen my mother. Early on, I was mad at her for putting me in this position, and then mad at myself for being angry and ungrateful.” Realizing Mr. Vargas was apart from his mother and sister without having the chance to meet his brother is heartbreaking. Most natural-born citizens fail to appreciate the economic and educational opportunities that are provided in the United States. Citizens of the United States are not threatened by the fear of moving to another (potentially foreign company) and ones who are living with both parents potential fail to realize the fortunate situation they are
Even though Vargas knew what he was doing was wrong, he convinced himself that if he lived up to the qualities of a citizen he would be o.k. (Vargas 7). Vargas talks about when he returned to Washington he told one of the higher ups, Peter, about his secret. Peter told him to keep doing what he’s doing and once he has accomplished enough they will tell the chairman. Vargas eventually leaves the paper and moves to New York to join The Huffington Post. Vargas talks about his successes of working for The Huffington Post but ended up leaving because he couldn’t take the guilt and the lies he was telling himself and friends about his problem of being illegal. Vargas ends his article by explaining why he finally admitted to being an illegal immigrant and how he feels now after he has admitted to it.
I was always a precocious child, yet argumentative and rebellious. I did not want to accomplish anything following a pattern set for me. I wanted to forge my own way. This determination set me at odds with my mother, and has defined our relationship all these years. It has surely led me down my own irregular path in life, and placed me in position to be the family’s black sheep.
Growing up as an immigrant I view the world in a much more different light than most people do. Whenever an opportunity presents itself to me I am willing to put in the effort if I know it will better my life. This trait of resourcefulness originates from my family who, over the years have created a life for themselves out of virtually nothing. I moved to America at the young age of two years old with my father. Though he didn’t have much to begin with, my father decided to move to this country in hopes to lead a better life and follow on the path of the American dream. I vividly recall being in the backseat of our car while my father trained me on the importance of remaining perceptive and hardworking in school and abroad, I remember he would
It is not uncommon to hear one recount their latest family reunion or trip with their cousins, but being a first generation immigrant, I sacrificed the luxury of taking my relatives for granted for the security of building a life in America. My parents, my brother, and I are the only ones in my family who live in the United States, thus a trip to India to visit my extended family after 4 years was an exciting yet overwhelming experience. Throughout the trip, I felt like a stranger in the country where I was born as so many things were unfamiliar, but there were a few places that reminded me of my childhood.
“Mom, will I ever be treated as a regular person? When will I be like the others without people look at me in a strange way and make fun of me, when mom? When?” Those were the questions I did to my mom almost every day after getting home from school. Fourteen years ago that my parents brought me to this country offering a better life with better opportunities than where I was born. I was seven years old when came to the United States, but I still remember the happiness I felt when I first step in this country. Throughout the years, I have realize that not everything is easy and simple as I imagined. My parents worked in the fields because of the lack of a social security and not knowing how to speak English. Many Americans do not know how hard it is the life of an immigrant, they should have a consideration for us and not just blame us for the deviance of the United States.
Vulnerability is a compelling aspect of this text and Vargas consistently uses it throughout the text to appeal to his audience’s sympathy. This is made brazenly obvious when Vargas tells the audience he is gay and then proceeds to write, “Tough as it was, coming out about being gay seemed less daunting than coming out about my legal status.” By telling his audience it is harder to come out to people as an undocumented immigrant than it is to tell people he is gay, it puts everything in perspective. While both gay and immigrants are highly debated topics, the typical American understands how hard it is to come out as gay. It is a challenging and taxing experience to come out as gay because not everyone agrees with that lifestyle. By comparing the two, his audience, legal Americans, are able to begin to understand how formidable coming out as an undocumented immigrant truly is. Vargas strongly appeals to pathos by comparing undocumented immigration to sexuality, evoking empathy from his audience.