Kathy Dewar, my high-school English teacher, introduced me to journalism. From the moment I wrote my first article for the student paper, I convinced myself that having my name in print - writing in English, interviewing Americans - validated my presence here.

Jose Antonio Vargas

War Teacher Mom

A broken immigration system means broken families and broken lives.

Jose Antonio Vargas

T System Stem

You can call me whatever you want to call me, but I am an American. No one can take that away from me. No, no one can.

Jose Antonio Vargas

You Whatever Way

Of all the questions I get asked as an undocumented immigrant in the United States, there are two - asked in various permutations via email, social media or in person - that chill me to the bone: 'Why don't you just make yourself legal?' And: 'Why don't you get in the back of the line?'

Jose Antonio Vargas

Men Legal Yourself

I'm not a minority: I'm a majority of one. We all are. To call someone a minority, you give them baggage, of not being full, or not being seen as full. All of us need to be seen as full human beings.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Age You Us

One day when I was 16, I rode my bike to the nearby DMV office to get my driver's permit. Some of my friends already had their licenses, so I figured it was time. But when I handed the clerk my green card as proof of U.S. residency, she flipped it around, examining it. 'This is fake,' she whispered. 'Don't come back here again.'

Jose Antonio Vargas

Time Car Whisper

I think everybody could agree that our immigration system is broken. We have not told the truth about it.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Truth Very Think

When you're undocumented, you're supposed to keep your head down and be quiet and pay taxes, social security - even though people don't know that we do those things - and not say anything.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Men Your You

The story of undocumented immigrants in this country is not just about undocumented immigrants. It's about the country as a whole, and it's about us being able to tell the truth about where we are with this issue because we haven't been telling the truth about where we are with this issue.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Truth Men Wit

I've been uncomfortable dealing with my identity since I was 16 years old.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Years Year Wit

My mother made a choice. And when I was younger, I judged her for making that choice. Then I got older and got to be an adult, and I realized that was the ultimate sacrifice that any parent and any mother could possibly make.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Younger Young You

On the surface, I've created a good life. I've lived the American dream. But I am still an undocumented immigrant.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Men Life Good

Since I got to this country when I was 12, I've been obsessed with this idea of whiteness and blackness because I realized I was neither. For me, it was so important to me to make a film that focused on whiteness because you wouldn't have blackness if you didn't have whiteness.

Jose Antonio Vargas

You Would Wit

I think the hardest stories we tell are always the ones about ourselves. And as a journalist, I was taught that I'm never supposed to put myself in the story. So I spent what, 11, 12 years of my life writing about other people so I don't have to face my own life.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Life Years Year

Kathy Dewar, my high-school English teacher, introduced me to journalism. From the moment I wrote my first article for the student paper, I convinced myself that having my name in print - writing in English, interviewing Americans - validated my presence here.

Jose Antonio Vargas

War Teacher Mom

I worked for 'The Chronicle' in San Francisco, and immigration is a big issue in that region.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Work Worked T

I'm more than willing to go to places and talk to people who believe that I am an illegal alien who deserves to be jailed. I want to look them in the eye and say, 'What makes you think I'm any different from you?' I think for our generation, immigration rights is a civil rights issue.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Legal You Willing

I don't think there's any other issue out there that young people are more passionate, and more ahead in, than global warming.

Jose Antonio Vargas

War Young People Young

At the end of the day, stories connect us, not politics. And there's so many stories out there waiting to be told. It's just a matter of who's out there listening.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Politics Who Waiting

Laws are getting passed in states like Alabama that basically would punish American citizens who are 'harboring' people. Since the federal government hasn't been able to muster or to get comprehensive immigration reform passed, states are taking it upon themselves to police and enforce laws.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Men Government Zen

As a newcomer to America who learned to 'speak American' by watching movies, I firmly believe that to change the politics of immigration and citizenship, we must change culture - the way we portray undocumented people like me and our role in society.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Society Politics Movies

Everyone has an opinion when it comes to immigration - strong, intense opinions.

Jose Antonio Vargas

I found out that I was illegal when I was 16. I'm gay. I'm Filipino.

Jose Antonio Vargas

The Internet is changing the way we think of our relationship with government; it has the potential to bring to life what Abraham Lincoln said about the presidency being an instrument of the people.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Left-leaning bloggers have had a tremendous impact on the Democratic Party.

Jose Antonio Vargas

There were many factors as to why I decided to come out as being undocumented. One of them is because I look the way that I look; I don't look like the 'stereotypical undocumented' person.

Jose Antonio Vargas

I'm a gay, undocumented immigrant; I have to be optimistic.

Jose Antonio Vargas

I guess, as a reporter, I always thought that my biggest strength was that I could get anybody to talk to me. I wasn't the best writer, but I could get people to talk to me.

Jose Antonio Vargas

I can't marry my way into citizenship like straight people can. I can get married in the state of New York where I live, but because of the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal government, which hands out visas, won't recognize my marriage.

Jose Antonio Vargas

I want to be as creatively disruptive as possible. I want to be radically transparent in a way that isn't showboating.

Jose Antonio Vargas

People don't really assume that I'm Filipino. Of course, they're gonna think, 'Oh, are you some sort of Hispanic?' and you say, 'No, I'm actually not.' I get Korean or Chinese a lot.

Jose Antonio Vargas

I wasn't supposed to be walking with Mark Zuckerberg. I wasn't supposed to be interviewing Romney's sons. Why was I doing it? Because I wanted to survive. I wanted to live. I wanted to earn what it means to be an American.

Jose Antonio Vargas

In 2007, Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would become a 'platform,' meaning that outside developers could start creating applications that would run inside the site. It worked.

Jose Antonio Vargas

In Tagalog, we call undocumented people 'TNT,' which means tago ng tago, which means 'hiding and hiding.' So that's literally what undocumented means in Tagalog. And that kind of tells you how Filipinos think of this issue, and really any culture, right?

Jose Antonio Vargas

I did not realize how broken I was until I saw how broken Mama was.

Jose Antonio Vargas

When people saw that the film was called 'White People,' many got very defensive. I've been getting some very interesting emails - and I'm used to hate mail, believe me. I think this idea that we grouped white people together is offensive to people.

Jose Antonio Vargas

All I've ever done since I was 17 is tell stories. You know, I'm a storyteller. And that's what I'm going to keep on doing, especially now, kind of embracing and making sure that we tell immigration.

Jose Antonio Vargas

As you watch 'Documented' on CNN, I ask you, my fellow Americans: What do you want to do with me? What do you want to do with us? How do you define American?

Jose Antonio Vargas

The film 'Documented,' a project of the nonprofit and nonpartisan Define American campaign, is about my families: the family I was blessed to be born into, and the family of friends, mentors and allies that I found when I moved to the United States at 12, a Filipino kid trying to make sense of my new home in America.

Jose Antonio Vargas

When I was younger, I didn't understand how a mother could put her son on a plane and just say, you know, 'Here you go, I'll see you later.' And she never followed, she never came.

Jose Antonio Vargas

I think everyone deserves dignity.

Jose Antonio Vargas

You have to do what you have to do. I wanted to work. I wanted to prove that I was worthy of being here... and I was gonna do whatever it took to prove that.

Jose Antonio Vargas

After I arrived in Mountain View, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area, I entered sixth grade and quickly grew to love my new home, family and culture. I discovered a passion for language, though it was hard to learn the difference between formal English and American slang.

Jose Antonio Vargas

I am more than an immigration activist.

Jose Antonio Vargas

My being gay is not a social issue; it's a fact. It's not something to be debated. It's a reality.

Jose Antonio Vargas

I'm a journalist, and I'm a filmmaker. I have an organization that's all about telling stories.

Jose Antonio Vargas

I am not a lobbyist. I am not a political activist. I am not a leader, as far as I'm concerned.

Jose Antonio Vargas

I am undoubtedly one of the more, if not the most, privileged undocumented immigrants in America. And for us at Define American, which is this culture campaign group that I founded with some friends, culture trumps politics.

Jose Antonio Vargas

Facebook's headquarters is a two-story building at the end of a quiet, tree-lined street. Zuckerberg nicknamed it the Bunker. Facebook has grown so fast that this is the company's fifth home in six years - the third in Palo Alto. There is virtually no indication outside of the Bunker's tenant.

Jose Antonio Vargas

The fact of the matter is, this country is not going to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. What are we supposed to do with them? What are we supposed to do with these kids?

Jose Antonio Vargas

I'm sure the president doesn't enjoy being called deporter-in-chief.

Jose Antonio Vargas