UPDATE, July 16, 6:17 a.m.: Jose Antonio Vargas has been released by U.S. Border Patrol agents after being detained at McAllen/Miller International Airport Tuesday morning.
The Border Patrol said in a statement that Vargas was arrested at the airport after he told an agent he was in the country illegally. He was released on his own recognizance late Tuesday with a notice to appear before an immigration judge.
ORIGINAL POST: Journalist-turned-immigration activist Jose Antonio Vargas has been detained at . He was detained while trying to board a plane to Los Angeles. Vargas was visiting the border to support his organization, , and 鈥渢o highlight the stories of refugee children who have fled countries in Central America."
In an essay for, Vargas wrote: 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think twice about visiting the Texas border. But I didn鈥檛 know what I was getting myself into and knew nothing about life as undocumented in a border town in Texas, where checkpoints and border patrol agents are parts of everyday life.鈥� Vargas has been using his passport from the Philippines to travel, but he doesn't have a visa.
The only IDs I have for security: Philippine passport and my pocketbook US Constitution &
— Jose Antonio Vargas (@joseiswriting)
Vargas came to the U.S. at age 12. When he went to get his driver鈥檚 license at 16, he was told his green card was a fake. He built a journalism career, and was part of the Washington Post reporting team that won a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings. He revealed he was an undocumented immigrant to the in 2011.
Here's a video the South Texas newspaper posted of Vargas being questioned by McAllen Border Patrol agents.
He鈥檚 been taken to the McAllen Border Patrol Station.
Here's a photo of in handcuffs, because the Border Patrol has nothing more pressing to do apparently
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim)
