I RESPECT MR.VARGAS TO SPEAK FREELY BECAUSE THIS IS U.S.A.,BUT REMEMBER, AN ILEGAL IS THE PERSON THAT IS NOT LEGAL .(LIKE OR NOT).
THIS ACTUAL SITUATION HAS TWO FACES.
ONE IS HUMANITARIAN ,THE OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL.
NOBODY IS EXEMPT TO VIOLATE A LAW.
MY QUESTION....WHERE IS THE RESPONSABILITY OF THOSE KIDS PARENTS?.
WHERE IS THE RESPONSABILITY OF THE CENTRAL AMERICAN COUNTRIES?.
THIS IS A SAD SITUATION.

It's so sad to see Jose Vargas in this position. He could have quietly continued to follow his trajectory as an accomplished journalist, but instead he courageously "came out" publicly about his immigration status and shone a bright light on the situation of the many children who were brought to this country without documentation. I hope the lawyers are able to find a legal way to allow him to stay here in his home country. Good Luck Jose.

"watching small kids fight for their lives with nothing more than their spirits"

Too bad their parents weren't there to help them.

"It's immoral that people aren't free to move around the country they know as home..."

It's immoral to send your children alone to an illegal, difficult life.

What a hostile vicious country we are devolving into in the name of "law" or "democracy" vav overseas issues. Compassion, and mutual caring are now consider silly and arcane ways to go,even more than in the past.

The violent mindset is the norm now ... ie 320M guns in private arsenals in a country of 325M people? Yeh! that's just what we need and that's what we have.

Our hostility vav immigrants IS THE NORM since the early/mid 1800's when my Irish family were greeted with "NO IRISH NEED APPLY" vav jobs or housing. We were the 1st major wave of immigrants and the USA's closed door mindset was alive and well. We Irish were blamed for the economic depression which actually started before the Irish wave hit these shores, as is true for the massive number of Latin American immigrants today. Immigrants routinely are the scapegoats for all sorts of ills ... it's the default stance for insecure people who are already here.
And Oh Yes! there's always a "good reason" for the hostility and usually "laws" are designed or found to support the hostility.

It's a long and well-honored tradition. So why should we change now?

Its too bad that Immigration did not put Vargas on the next flight to the Philippines in an orange jumpsuit and chains. If he wanted to come back to the USA then he could apply to do so legally like so many other immigrants have done here in the Silicon Valley. Let's not reward someone whose first act is a criminal one of entering without a valid visa. Immigration is beneficial and I'm all for it when done legally but illegals should always be deported when caught.

Deport him.

Why should he and others get a free pass, just because people feel sorry for him/them?
It's not fair to the people who are and have gone through the proper channels to become US citizens.

Send him back and have him go through the naturalization process, and instead of fighting for immigration reform. He should do the right thing and set an example of how to become a US citizen, the way the law intended.

@Maher - this is not about you.

Deporting a Pulitzer prize winning journalist who grew up in the US (legally or illegally) is a waste of money (taxpayers) and talent (his).

How about this, we give a green card to all Pulitzer prize winning undocumented individuals if they have no criminal record.

test347... Your being obtuse is not a good way to deny validity to my words. My family story is still being told today for immigrants facing your hostility. It's a continuum fella' and you're part of the problem... not part of the solution.

You want to pretend hostility toward immigrants is caused by the immigrants. That's a lie. Your hostility is yours and it is caused by your monkey see monkey do upbringing and the long traditions behind it.

So you are proof of how relevant my story is.

"How about this, we give a green card to all Pulitzer prize winning undocumented individuals if they have no criminal record."

What part of "illegal" do you not understand? If you break a law, you have committed a crime. You are a criminal.

Vargas's family entered the country illegally.
He remains here illegally.
He has falsified documents which is illegal.
He has taken jobs illegally.
He drives without a license which is illegal.

Vargas is a criminal. Winning a prize does not change that.

"... working at several of the nation's top newspapers."

Which newspapers would that be? Why yes, our very own Mountain View Voice.

That raises some questions. Did the MV Voice hire him knowing he was illegal which would be a crime? Or, did Vargas lie to the MV Voice editor? Did he sign his name to an I9 and submit it which is certainly a crime?

"Our undocumented community along the border is trapped within its own country, unable to leave and surrounded by checkpoints," said Cristina Jimenez

Yet another lie from people for whom lying is a lifestyle. They are free to leave anytime and are encouraged to do so. The US taxpayers even provide free transportation.

Publicity hound. Will buy five copies of this for his mother.

Hmm.. so we should ignore laws just because we don't agree with them?

Well I don't agree with most of our country's gun laws. Can I just ignore those? Can I ignore them if I win a Pulitzer prize?

Of course not.

I am actually in favor of immigration. I think it is part of what makes this country so great.

If you disagree with the laws of our country the process is to tell your elected representatives. If enough people agree with you something will be done about it.

In the end I believe this was nothing more than a publicity stunt for Mr. Vargas. The publicity from his initial "outing" has died. Once you get a taste of fame it's a hard thing to give up.

He should be deported. Then he can apply to come back just like every other legal immigrant.