undocumented immigrants

In the article of “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas, he tells his story from the minute he arrived in America. Vargas first arrived in this country by a lie. He was told by his mother to get on and get on a play with his uncle, which he had never met before at the age 12. Over the course of his life, Vargas soon discovered he had come to America as an illegal immigrant. His grandfather Lolo and Lola took him as his own to care and provided the basics in life, to have a better life than in the Philippines. Vargas took it upon his mission to be successful in school and hope that the hard work would pay of and become the American he wanted to be.

The first time that Mr. Hernandez and his brother left his home town was when he was 12 years old and the reason why they left was because they were told by a friend who was in Chicago that there was good work and people made good money. He and his brother decided to try out their luck so they crossed the border and set off to Chicago. When they arrived at Chicago they got work in a factory making metal cabinets for offices. During his time there he had experience something new that he had never new about, “I had experience my first act of racism against me for being Mexican”. He says that the food and the climate was not what he had expected and he only stayed there for three months and decided that the American culture was not for him. He found himself out of place and couldn’t relate with the current culture that he was in, so he decided to go back to Mexico to seek the comfort of his home town. Upon arrival to his home town in Mexico he didn’t know that he would have a strange feeling almost of feeling out of place. The greeting of his friends and family that he got was not one to he had expected. Friends would tease him by calling him “Here comes the gringo” meaning here comes the white man. Mr. Hernandez says that he was tease because people in a way felt like if a person would leave Mexico it was because he felt that he was better than the rest of the people. Mr. Hernandez faced many social pressures from his community for seeking to better his finances.

Vargas handled it through journalism. The article “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” is about Vargas’s life story as an unwanted American. In the article he uses ethos, pathos, and logos to share his story with the readers. He uses data’s, location, names of palaces, and other events that were happening at the time. For example, “Dream Act” and “Obama administration has deported almost 800,000 people in the last two years”, which was before 2011. He published this article with the New York Times in 2011, but it wasn’t the first time Vargas had published something. He tells the readers that he is “paying state and federal taxes” and on “April 2008, [he] was part of…[the] team that won a Pulitzer Prize” to show that he is credible in telling his struggling life story as an undocumented immigrant.

Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, shares his life-long journey as an undocumented immigrant in his text, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant.” As the title suggests, Vargas attempts to convey to his audience, who likely never has and never will experience anything similar to what he has, what it is like to live as an immigrant in the United States of America. Skillfully, Vargas details the perfect number of personal stories to reach the emotional side of his audience, which is anyone who is not an immigrant. Through the use of his personal accounts Vargas is able to effectively communicate that immigrants are humans too while simultaneously proving his credibility, as he has experience and a vast amount of knowledge

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

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,”

We all come from different places and ethnicities, and because of having a dream, people fled away from their home to seek for something to make their life better. Going to a country like United States, is not only a dream but also, an opportunity because many people think that America is the best place to settle in, where work, and education are an easy access. Though this statement is partly true, it is not that easy. Everyone envied because America is a great nation because it's a country of opportunity, but a part of it also is a mixture of feelings that are hard to explain especially if you are immigrant. Every day in your life, you are fighting for something in order to fit in and survive. However, in the process of fitting in or blending to a certain place, people, and culture, it requires a lot of personal choices and a lot of effort as an immigrant. It does not only affect you as a human, but also it draws a lot of attention, conflicts and tension between the government and community. Most immigrants have a harder time to adjust or assimilate even though they speak fluent English and eat American foods. Whenever you see a person of white complexion, people assumed that blue eyes and blonde hair are the characteristics of an American, though these are how we perceived American long time ago, this are still the standards of a few now and doesn’t make a big change at all. The judgement of how a person look physically and how they

This relates to the human rights issue of immigrants due to enrique’s mom heading for the states to better her life. She was a maid , so therefore she didn’t really make that much money. She hoped for a better life and she thought she would be able to do this by moving to the states. In her eyes the only way to do this was heading for america.

Throughout the various books that we have read, one of the many concepts that stood out for me was the well-being and healthcare of undocumented workers. Due to the current criminalization of immigration, most undocumented workers live in a constant state of fear and anxiety. This really made me think about the psychological and somatic outcomes of fear, stigma, trauma, and prejudice for undocumented workers. This brought into question the structural and symbolic violence that causes undocumented workers to suffer from mental and physical illnesses and how the treatment, if any, is administered.

Are illegal immigrants or undocumented immigrants beneficial to America’s economy? Most illegal immigrants have a positive impact on the United States (U.S.) economy. Illegal immigrants have a positive impact on the United States economy because they increase our tax revenue, they add to our social security, and they also increase our employment rates.” In 2000, statistics revealed 8.7 million illegal immigrants resided in the United States” (Knickerbocker pgs.11-12). “A study of illegal immigrants living in Texas showed a 420 million dollar increase in the states economy” (Strayhorn). Companies risk hiring illegal immigrants

Throughout life, every individual must face obstacles; some more difficult than others. In the story “The Trip” by Laila Lalami, poem “Exile” by Julia Alvarez, and article “Outlaw: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas, there is a main character who has to face many challenges because of the fact that they’re immigrants. In all three texts, it is evident that being an immigrant has many affects on their lives. However, this label and the obstacles that come with it didn’t stop each character from pushing forward.

“Outlaw: My Life In America As An Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas from the New York Times, is a narrative essay that focuses on telling a story of past events. Vargas proposes that since he grew up in America that this is considered his home. Vargas believed he would be granted citizenship if he worked harder and achieved more. His motivation of sharing his childhood journey would be the relief of him coming forward about his legal status to those who were not aware and to those who he truly cares about but could not risk sharing his story with. Vargas tone and stance attracts people who are or have already been through the same path and for those that come to America to live the “American Dream” like Vargas intended to. Vargas concludes he is trapped in duplicity and being dishonest about his legal status is destroying his character. Even though, Vargas convinces me about his difficult journey as an undocumented immigrant, his belief that coming forward with the truth of his legal status will allow him to regain his values or the trust of those who he has already lied to is unconvincing because after all those years it has become a part of his selfhood.

The author of “Outlaw; My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” Jose Antonio Vargas conquered his fear of people knowing he is undocumented immigrant by being determined to succeed in life. Given that Jose and his grandmother fear people discovering the truth his life has fallen into pieces. As Jose and his grandmother discuss his situation she asks him, “What will happen if people find out? I couldn't say anything. After we got off the phone, I rushed to the bathroom on the fourth floor of newsroom, sat down on the toilet and cried”(10). As a result, Jose Vargas has become vulnerable and paranoid about everything in his life. This leads to depression and the inability to live a fulfilled life. Eventually Jose decides to face the music and reveal to his boss and fellow co workers about situation. Further in the article Jose decides to “… come forward, own up to what I´ve done, and tell my story to the best of my recollection [...] I don't know what to consequences will be telling my story” (11). In the end he felt relief and finally happy about telling everyone his secret. This challenge was difficult, but with his passion to be truly happy in his job and life he was able to overcome the situation. For the author, Jose Antonio Vargas this situation was difficult but with his family and friends, who supported him, he gathered the strength to defeat the problem.

There are millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States, many of whom are Latinos. Americans today tend to believe that undocumented immigrants are: rapist, drug traffickers, live off the welfare and come to the United States to take American’s jobs. Indeed, American employers are hiring, so jobs are there, but the American people are not doing them. Therefore, someone must do the hard labor that no one wants. Many Latinos immigrate to the United States looking towards a better future for their families. They come with a positive perspective that their children are going to have a better life and are not going to experience any injustices. For many decades, white Americans have oppressed and marginalized undocumented immigrants because

In his essay “Outlaw”, Jose Antonio Vargas admits that he is an undocumented immigrant, and decided it was time to come clean. His essay begins at age twelve, and follows his journey to adulthood, as he fights for full United States citizenship. Not only do I consider Vargas heroic for his determination, but also brave for publishing his story despite possible consequences he may have faced for revealing his immigration status.