Jose Antonio Vargas

Jose Antonio Vargas

Birthdate
February 3, 1981 (43 years old)
Known For
Directing

Details

Birthdate
February 3, 1981 (43 years old)
Known For
Directing

Biography

Jose Antonio Vargas (born February 3, 1981) is a journalist, filmmaker, and immigration rights activist. Born in the Philippines and raised in the United States from the age of twelve, he was part of The Washington Post team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting in 2008 for coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting online and in print. Vargas has also worked for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Philadelphia Daily News, and The Huffington Post. He wrote, produced, and directed the autobiographical 2013 film Documented, which CNN Films broadcast in June 2014.

In a June 2011 essay in The New York Times Magazine, Vargas revealed his status as an undocumented immigrant in an effort to promote dialogue about the immigration system in the U.S. and to advocate for the DREAM Act, which would provide children in similar circumstances with a path to citizenship. A year later, a day after the publication of his Time cover story about his continued uncertainty regarding his immigration status, the Obama administration announced it was halting the deportation of undocumented immigrants age 30 and under, who would be eligible for the DREAM Act. Vargas, who had just turned 31, did not qualify.

Vargas is the founder of Define American, a nonprofit organization intended to open up dialogue about the criteria people use to determine who is an American. He has said: "I am an American. I just don't have the right papers."

In September 2018, his memoir, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, was published by Dey Street.

In July 2022, he was appointed to the California State University Board of Trustees by Governor Gavin Newsom.

Jose Antonio Vargas's LGBTQ+ Titles

Outrage
Outrage
Self

Acting (5)

2018
Sabuesos as Self (1 episode)
2013
Documented as Self
2009
Outrage as Self
2003
Real Time with Bill Maher as Self (1 episode)
1996
The Daily Show as Self (1 episode)

Directing (2)

2015
White People • Director
• Director
2013
Documented • Director
• Director

Production (2)

2013
Documented • Producer
• Producer
2010
The Other City • Producer
• Producer

Writing (2)

2013
Documented • Writer
• Writer
2010
The Other City • Writer
• Writer