-Welcome to the show.
-Thank you for having me.
-I really appreciate you making the time.
So you have been an undocumented person for 25 years.
-Yes.
-And when you wrote your book that won the Pulitzer,
you said "Notes of an Undocumented Citizen."
Why was it important for you to have "citizen" in the title?
-Well, actually, I ended up winning the Pulitzer
when I was a reporter for "The Washington Post."
-Gotcha.
-It's not for the book, but thank you.
-And I feel like you were overlooked for the book
and I'm gonna make a big point of it
next time I talk to my friend Bob Pulitzer.
[ Laughter ]
-You've got to love America, though.
I ended winning a part of a Pulitzer
but I can't get a Green Card.
-Yeah. -Right?
So, there's no process for undocumented immigrants like me,
who have lived here 26 years next month
to actually legalize our status and follow a process.
Actually, I was watching the debate tonight.
And I actually started thinking that, coming on the show,
I want to actually make an announcement.
I think after tonight, I am deciding to run for
President of the United States of America.
-Alright, yeah. Why not?
[ Cheers and applause ]
-On behalf of all the undocumented immigrants
in the country.
I'm totally kidding. Totally kidding.
Because the reality is, undocumented immigrants like me
can't even vote for an election, much less participate in one.
-You showed up when you were 12 years old
from the Philippines, and you did not realize
until you were 16 and tried to get a driver's license
that you lacked documentation.
Is that how it worked out?
-Yeah, that was in 1997.
Only 13 states allow
undocumented immigrants to drive.
So I found out when I was 16.
There was no Google.
It's not like I can Google this.
And I'm Filipino.
And whenever the media said anything about illegal people,
it was always about Mexico.
By the way, if you see an Asian-looking person
with a Latino name, it means they're Filipino.
[ Laughter ]
That's a little hint from me.
There's 4 million of us in America.
So, I thought I may be the only non-Mexican
undocumented immigrant in this country.
Then thankfully I was a student in high school,
and my teacher, Mrs. Door, said
I asked too many annoying questions
and I should do this thing called journalism.
And then I found out that when you become a journalist,
you get a byline.
So, like, your name is on a piece of paper.
so I thought if I can't be here
because I don't have the right papers,
what if my name is on the paper?
Like, this book actually has a Library of Congress number.
Like, I don't have a Green Card,
but the book is documented, and I'm not.
[ Laughter ]
-That's all right. -But what is that about, right?
Like, actually, for me, now that immigration is, like,
the central topic in this election,
I think there's an opportunity for us to really educate people
about what the issue is, and what really a lot of
the politicians and even people in the mainstream media
is not really talking about.
-What are they getting wrong?
When you read coverage about it,
when you watch a debate like tonight,
what do you feel like people are getting wrong
when they talk about the immigration debate?
-Well, the number-one thing is the fact that there is --
The number-one question I get asked all the time is
"Why can't you just get legal?"
As if all I have to do is flip a switch and poof,
I'm an American stealing your welfare, right?
And even tonight during the debate,
when they talked about undocumented immigrants
and healthcare, undocumented workers like me
actually contribute billions of dollars
in taxes and Social Security.
Like, I have paid so much taxes this past tax season,
I should be a Republican.
-Yeah. -Right?
So, we pay into the system that deports and detains us.
Like, so what is that about?
And the fact is, in the media, even now,
and I'm really sorry to say this,
even "The Washington Post" and "The New York Times" still refer
to people like me as illegal.
So Define American has actually been at the forefront of
actually challenging how news organizations
and then how television shows portray immigrants like me.
-Talk about Define American, and when you started it,
and obviously those were a couple of the goals,
but how you go about trying to get people to listen.
-Well, to be honest, I'm only one story, right?
Like, if I counted all the undocumented white people
that I meet at Starbucks --
-That's where they would hang out.
And they tell me they're undocumented,
and usually we don't talk about undocumented white immigrants
or even undocumented black immigrants
from Africa or the Caribbean.
The reality is the fastest-growing
undocumented population are coming from Asia,
not from Latin America.
I actually think owe the Mexican people an apology
for having made this issue
just about Mexican people and just about Latin America.
Right? [ Applause ]
What? There's like 56 million Latin people in this country.
And the majority of them
have been here for decades, if not centuries.
Like, I don't know,
when California used to be part of Mexico.
So, to me, really, our goal is how do we get people
to get this issue out of this border Mexican box
that we have locked it in.
And for us, storytelling is the way to do that.
So if you're undocumented and you want to share your story,
if you're white, black,
if you're an engineer or if you're a farmer,
go to our website -- defineamerican.com
and tell us your story
and help us get this issue out of this box
that we have relegated it in.
-Well, I'm so glad you're doing that.
Thank you so much for making the time tonight.
And it's just great
to talk to anybody about this issue, especially you.
Jose Antonio Vargas, everybody.