24+ Jose Antonio Vargas Quotes On Education, Government And An Undocumented Citizen

Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning Filipino journalist, filmmaker, and immigration rights activist. He is best known for publicly revealing his status as an undocumented immigrant in the United States in 2011 and for his advocacy for the rights of immigrants. He is the founder of Define American, a non-profit organization that seeks to elevate the conversation around immigration and citizenship. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Jose Antonio Vargas on education, life, government.

Top 10 Jose Antonio Vargas Quotes

1. America is White and Black and Latino and Asian. America is mixed. America is immigrants.
2. For Filipino Americans, it's a battle for recognition, for identity in a culture where, for the mainstream, Asians tend to fade into a monochromatic racialized 'other.'
3. When people call me illegal, calling me illegal says more about you than it does about me.
4. You have to stand for something bigger than yourself.
5. To me, it's just that social media is allowing people to be in charge of their own narratives.
6. A friend said to me I'm like a walking New Yorker article. It's true! That's how I write. That's how I think.
7. I'm not a politician. I'm not a policy wonk. I was a political reporter, but that's not really what turns me on. What turns me on is how people perceive the issue and how people see people like me.
8. I like Q&A's better than articles sometimes because I feel like I'd rather hear somebody actually talk or wrestle with.
9. The last thing reporters and editors want to be told is what to do and how to write. They don't want to be some politically correct, Orwellian, kind of like "you're telling me how to write about...?"
10. I am not the 'illegal' you think I am, and immigration is not what you think it is.

Jose Antonio Vargas Short Quotes

• The only reason I became a writer was so I could exist on a piece of paper.
• To be in America illegally is actually a civil offense and not a criminal one.
• I always felt like I had the word "illegal" tattooed on my forehead.
• I think I've always been paranoid.
• To this day writing is the most painful thing to do.
• I've done everything I've done in America with the limitations I have.

Jose Antonio Vargas Famous Quotes And Sayings

Together, undocumented people like me and our relatives, friends and allies wait for broader immigration reform, not just for Dreamers but also for undocumented workers of all ages and backgrounds who contribute to our economic security and prosperity. — Jose Antonio Vargas

I remember the first thing I did when I found out I was illegal was to get rid of my thick Filipino accent. I figured that I had to talk white and talk black at the same time, like Charlie Rose and Dr. Dre. If I can talk white and black then no one is ever going to think that I'm "illegal." — Jose Antonio Vargas

I have no control over what people call me. The only thing I have control over is my work, and that's really all I can be judged on. — Jose Antonio Vargas

Film, as any immigrant will tell you, television and movies is the way we make sense of America when we first got here. — Jose Antonio Vargas

Independent of politics, the changing narrative on immigration is directly correlated to the fact that we have new technologies that are allowing people to talk to each other and tell their own stories and organize themselves. — Jose Antonio Vargas

Citizenship to me is more than a piece of paper. Citizenship is also about character. I am an American. We're just waiting for our country to recognize it. — Jose Antonio Vargas

One of the things I had to really wrap my head around is I have no control over what people call me: advocate, activist, gay, Filipino, undocumented person, gay person with an Asian face and Latino name. — Jose Antonio Vargas

I grew up in newsrooms. I've been in newsrooms since I was 17 years old. Journalism has been like my church; it's been like my identity. — Jose Antonio Vargas

Life Lessons by Jose Antonio Vargas

1. Jose Antonio Vargas' work shows the importance of standing up for what you believe in and fighting for the rights of others.
2. He demonstrates the power of storytelling to bring attention to important issues and to create social change.
3. His work also highlights the importance of courage and resilience in the face of adversity and the need to challenge the status quo.