Define American with Jose Antonio Vargas

How can you miss someone you haven't seen in 31 years? When I was 12 years old, my mother sent me to live in California with my grandparents, for a better life. Because of America's broken immigration system, we have not seen each other in person since. Soon after, my mother applied for a green card. Decades later, it’s finally her turn. It’s a bittersweet moment. As our family finally comes toget...

We’re in a moment when two pillars of the American Dream — immigration and higher education — are under attack like never before in our country’s modern history. There was a time — which feels both like yesterday and a lifetime ago — when it felt like there was real bi-partisan momentum towards providing a path to citizenship for DREAMers — undocumented young people brought to the US as children w...

If you have a caregiver in your life who you depend on — a home health aid, a nanny for your kids — chances are, that person is an immigrant. According to the Economic Policy Institute, nearly 20 percent of domestic workers in the United States are non-citizens. “Domestic workers are more than 2.5 times as likely to be immigrants than the typical worker,” according to the Department of Labor. The...

One of the biggest myths about undocumented immigrants is that they don’t pay taxes and are a drain on the United States economy — when in reality, the opposite is true. Undocumented people pay federal income tax, state and local taxes, sales tax — contributing tens of billions of dollars each year. They pay Social Security and unemployment tax, even though they are ineligible to receive those ben...

I'm in Washington, D.C., talking to Democratic members of Congress about what they can do to fight back against Trump's regressive anti-immigrant policies. If you were feeling hopeless before, well, the struggle is real. But thankfully, we have fighters like my friend and representative, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon.  Rep. Simon represents my home district, California's 12th congressio...

When it comes to Trump’s plans for mass deportation, “the worst is yet to come,” says Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. So what can Democrats do to fight back? Congresswoman Jayapal is the representative for Washington’s 7th district, which encompasses the Seattle metro area, where almost 20 percent of residents are foreign-born. Born in Chennai, India, she is one of about two dozen immigrants in the...

Tomorrow, I will reunite with my mother and little sister for the first time in 31 years. We have not been in the same physical space since I was 12. My sister was barely 2.A couple of years ago, during COVID,  my mother's green card was finally approved after decades of waiting to “get in line” “the legal way.”This whole event — this decades-long reunion — feels bigger than language. I am beyond...

On his first day back in office, Donald Trump signed an executive order that would end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants and temporary residents. That night, the ACLU filed a lawsuit, calling Trump’s order unconstitutional. In 1857, the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision ruled that Black Americans were not U.S. citizens. In the wake of the Civil War, the 14th amen...

With both the Republicans and Democrats completely missing the mark on immigration reform, what other options do we have for meaningful change?  In this episode, Jose Antonio Vargas sits down with Andrew Yang, an author, entrepreneur, and founder of the Forward Party, to discuss immigration, political polarization, and solutions beyond the two-party system. Yang, who first became a household name...

As we begin Donald Trump’s second term, it’s painfully clear that many journalists are failing to meet the challenge of covering immigrants and immigration in this Trump era. While some exceptions exist, mainstream news outlets continue to repeat Trump’s narratives, framing immigration around “criminals” rather than acknowledging the reality: under his first administration, Trump’s policies target...

As we begin Donald Trump’s second term, it’s painfully clear that many journalists are failing to meet the challenge of covering immigrants and immigration in this Trump era. While some exceptions exist, mainstream news outlets continue to repeat Trump’s narratives, framing immigration around “criminals” rather than acknowledging the reality: under his first administration, Trump’s policies target...

On Christmas night, for the first time since arriving in California as an undocumented immigrant on August 3, 1993, I left the United States. Crossing the border into Mexico for a U.S. consulate interview in Tijuana, I had a chance at finally obtaining a visa after living undocumented for 31 years. With no guarantee of approval, I packed for an uncertain journey that could last days, weeks, or mon...

In this episode, Jose Antonio Vargas speaks with immigrant advocates Nneka Achapu and Cesar Espinosa in Houston, a city where 25% of the population is foreign-born. Meanwhile Texas Gov. Abbott has sent busloads full of immigrants to cities like Chicago and New York as inhumane political stunts. Despite red-state politics, these advocates continue to prepare for a second Trump presidency. Achapu, f...

In this episode, award-winning journalist and author Jean Guerrero joins Jose Antonio Vargas for an in-depth discussion on immigration, politics, and media representation. A New York Times Opinion contributor and author of Crux: A Cross-Border Memoir and Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda , Guerrero has dedicated her career to amplifying immigrant stories an...

“Even a rough estimate of my district, I would say easily, a third are undocumented, if not higher,” says Texas State Representative Gene Wu, who represents District 137 in southwestern Houston and serves as the new chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus. ““They work for your companies, they clean your house, they mow your lawn,” says Wu, “And if they're gone–if they're deported, I pro...

For undocumented immigrants in America, the constant news cycle of deportations, political rhetoric, and uncertainty can feel overwhelming. But beyond the panic and gloom, how do we hold on to hope, resilience, and joy—regardless of who is in the White House? In this episode, Jose Antonio Vargas sits down with Yosimar Reyes, the artist-in-residence at MACLA (Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Ame...

At a rally in Madison Square Garden, Donald Trump vowed: ““On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.” Since then, a lot of people have been asking how, exactly, the incoming administration plans  to target 11 million undocumented immigrants, a population the size of Belgium or Bolivia. Is this even possible? In this episode, Jose Antoni...

Did you know that undocumented Asian immigrants are the fastest-growing undocumented population in the United States? Yet, mainstream immigration discussions almost exclusively focus on the U.S.-Mexico border and the Latine community. As of 2017, approximately 1.7 million undocumented Asian immigrants live in the U.S., meaning 1 in 6 undocumented immigrants is Asian, and 1 in 7 Asian immigrants la...

In this powerful episode, Jose Antonio Vargas sits down with his friend Gaby Pacheco, a prominent leader in the immigrant rights movement and President & CEO of TheDream. US, the largest scholarship fund for undocumented students in the United States. Jose met Gaby a week before “coming out” as an undocumented immigrant. When he met her and told her what he was about to do, apologized for not...

"There's a huge disconnect between how we benefit from immigration as a nation and how Democratic leadership talks about it," says Andrea Flores, Vice President of Immigration Policy at FWD.us and former immigration advisor for both the Obama and Biden administrations. “It wasn't that President Biden tried a number of pro-immigrant policies and the country rejected them. It's...

Like millions of other undocumented Americans, I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to survive the next four years. One way I’ll do that is by telling the truth about the immigrant experience—the full immigrant experience—in a country where lies, misinformation, and disinformation about “illegal aliens” helped bring Donald Trump back to the White House. Throughout this podcast, I’ll invite exper...