16-year-old inspired by Jose Antonio Vargas asks, ‘Why must people hide’?
The Define American founder was a guest speaker of the Filipino American Press Club of New York
By Elena Velez
Jose Antonio Vargas is an undocumented immigrant who has lived in the United States since he was very young. He didn’t necessarily choose this life. His mother just wanted a better future for him. He went all through high school and college without anyone knowing about his status, until he came out as an undocumented immigrant in June 2011.
As an undocumented immigrant, he feels as though he’s still not being accepted in certain situations.
However, he’s not the only one feeling this way. There are millions of undocumented immigrants who want to move forward in life without waking up every day wondering what’s going to happen to them. Jose’s goal is to convince the government to treat these immigrants with equal rights and as normal American citizens.
The author listens intently as Vargas argues and jokes his way around the issue of immigration. The FilAm photos
Though he can’t help every immigrant out there, his first step is to have a word – or a conversation — out there for enough people to discuss the issue. In a situation like this, of course not everyone is going to agree right away, but he is aware that this will make an impact on Filipinos and other cultures. Not only does this affect Filipino immigrants, but also a huge population of Latinos. Jose’s previous writings and speeches have inspired other undocumented immigrants to speak up as well.
Jose also mentioned the term “TNTs,” which means “hiding and hiding” or “tago ng tago” in Tagalog. He said we Filipinos should start talking about this issue and stop referring to each other as TNTs because the term means there is shame and fear about being undocumented. I am certain that no one wants to be called someone who’s always hiding. Why must people have to hide? Everyone should have the right to wake up, knowing they’re welcome in this country without being questioned on who they are.
Jose also reveals that he is gay. Why does the government have to make a law or an exception of gay marriage when people have been doing it for years? In this generation, nothing is fair. What you give is what you get. The law of immigrants in the U.S. does not only hurt them, but their families as well. Specifically, the DREAMers who are now slowly coming out of their shell and telling the people who they really are, thanks to Jose’s inspiring articles.
Jose is now working on a documentary of his journey of being an undocumented immigrant. This will not only motivate others to speak out, but will hopefully change the minds of those who exclude people who work hard every day just to be American citizens.
Elena Velez is a 10 grader at Summit Senior High School. With her mother and sister, she came to the March 29 Kapihan forum with Jose Antonio Vargas, organized by the Filipino American Press Club. She thought Vargas, founder of Define American, was “amazing” and an “inspiration to undocumented immigrants,” and was moved to write this essay. She lives in Summit, New Jersey.
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