What it Means to Be an Undocumented Citizen

What it Means to Be an Undocumented Citizen

by Daniela Ramirez, December 2020

Jose Antonio Vargas tells us his story as an undocumented immigrant in his book, Dear America, Notes of an Undocumented Citizen. Vargas is an undocumented citizen born in the Philippines who immigrated to the United States on August 1, 1993 at the age of twelve. In his book, he tells us about the immigrant experience and his efforts to “earn” his place in the U.S. despite his lack of documentation to live here (Vargas 71). Vargas challenges the definition of U.S. citizen through the concept of participation by making a positive contribution to the country. Furthermore, just like Vargas, many undocumented immigrants don’t have a clear path to citizenship. Although they are pushed out of their countries by the effects of neocolonialism, they are here and prove to be a vital part of this country.

If we are going to redefine citizenship, first we need to solidify how citizenship is defined in the U.S. In the U.S., the Constitution defines citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment as: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside.” The U.S. decides who is admitted into this country as a legal citizen and uses its power to take over foreign land.Vargas explains how the U.S. treats control over land and its population: “But our history, past and present, proves that America has been defining and defending its borders while expanding its own reach on its own terms” (140). This concept of expansion reflects the U.S. dream of manifest destiny as well as its actions of neocolonialism all over the world; they police who enters as well as conquers more land to control. In Dear America, Vargas discusses the different ways citizenship is viewed. One quote he cites by Michael Douglas from the film The American President is, “‘America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You’ve gotta want it bad, ‘cause it’s gonna put up a fight’” (Vargas 199). This film captures the honest truth that undocummented citizen live every day in this country. The pathway to citizenship is complex, long, and unfortunately no matter one’s contribution to this country, not everyone has a path to attain citizenship in the U.S. The U.S. policy around citizenship seems hypocritical considering they take land via neocolonialism, showing us that power and control is what is important to this country.

Now that we have defined citizenship, what possibilities do immigrants such as Vargas have to attain legal status? Aviva Chomsky wrote the book “They Take Our Jobs!” and 20 other myths about immigration, in which she dissects many myths about immigrantion people in the U.S.  believe. One myth she tackles is that European immigrants in the past followed the same rules immigrants today supposedly ignore. “Through a complex process of omission and commission, the law dictated open immirgration for white people and restricted immigration for people of color” (Chomsky 54). A commonly misunderstood concept is that the path to citizenship in the U.S. is fair and attainable by all people. Many white Americans fail to understand that when their ancestors came to the U.S., they were not met with as many restrictions as we are today and then the system did not even allow entry to people of color. Today people of color are able to come to the U.S., but it is accompanied by many conditions that make it nearly impossible for those who need to legally immigrate in a timely manner. In the Philippines, the path to citizenship in America is limited as it is for many in other countries around the world hoping for a better life than their home country offers. “There were three primary ways to get to America: (1) join the U.S. Navy; (2) marry a U.S. citizen; (3) get petitioned by a relative” (Vargas 24). If you are unable to meet these requirements, you have the option to either give up or enter the U.S. illegally. Even if you meet one of these requirements, the process takes years and unfortunately life in your home country may be a risk for survival. This pushes people to do whatever they can to come to the U.S. What happens if you are already in the U.S.? do you have other options to gain citizenship? “The only solution for me, the lawyer said, was to leave the U.S., go back to the Philippines, and accept what’s called a ‘10-year bar’ before trying to come back to America, this time legally” (Vargas 82). For Vargas and other undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., their only option to gain citizenship is to leave and then hopefully be admitted back into the country. Something the immigration system in this country doesn’t factor in is the circumstances that bring some immigrants to this country, such as children being brought or sent by their parents. This country for some is the only country they can remember and the one they call home. In 2012, the Obama administration created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which allows thousands of undocumented chilren and young adults under the age of thirty to temprarily remain in the U.S. as well as legally work and have access to financial aid at the college level. Mirian Romero Franco wrote his thesis for the California State University Northridge on DACA on how it is only a temporary solution, making it ultimately flawed. “My analysis confirms that DACA creates opportunities and benefits that are essential to undocumented students and society as a whole, however it lacks permanent status and a clear path to citizenship” (Romero). DACA is an incomplete solution to the issue of undocumented children and young adults that arrive to this country as children. This country is the only country they really know and a culture they have truly embraced. Deporting them to their birthplaces, countries that feels foreign, to them seems inhumane.

If obtaining U.S. citizenship seems to be more difficult for people of color, what causes them to still immigrate even if that means illegally? On June 22, 2011, Vargas wrote an article outing his story as an immigrant for The New York Times Magazine to publish. “My mother wanted to give me a better life, so she sent me thousands of miles away to live with her parents in America” (Vargas). As a child, Vargas was sent by his mother to the U.S. with false documents to live with her parents in hopes that her son could have a better future than the one the Philippines provided. The Philippines was one of the countries where the U.S. practiced neocolonialism, so inevitably Filipinos in need looked to the American dream like many other immigrants around the world have since long ago. Manuel Barajas wrote an article included in Society Without Borders, where he explains to us how European migration is different than Mexican migration. He explains how colonization plays a role in the migration waves that come from Mexico. In the nineteenth century, the U.S. glorified the idea of manifest destiny, believing it was their destiny to control territory from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This meant inevitably taking over the western part that was once northern Mexico. “By 1848, the United States took over half of Mexico’s territory and soon after benefited from colonized labor on both sides of the newly imposed border” (Barajas 11). The U.S. began practicing neocolonialism in Mexico and other parts of the world. American businesses have since globalized and set up factories in places like Mexico where American laws can’t prevent them from exploiting workers to obtain a higher profit margin than in the U.S. “Mexican communities and small/medium ejidos (collective farms) lost national subsidies and legal protections over communal land and resources, and multinational corporations and foreign investors benefited from a Mexican export-oriented economy with 80–90 percent going to the United States” (Barajas 12). Although the expansion of a global economy provides jobs, it does so by exploiting its workers. These companies are constantly looking for where they can spend less to make more money, in turn making living conditions very difficult for their workers. The U.S. intervention in many countries is often followed by waves of migration from these countries because of the turmoil caused by these companies. Immigrants simply want to survive, and without an accessible way to gain U.S. citizenship, they are forced by life’s circumstances to enter illegally.

Although Vargas isn’t legally a citizen, his definition of citizenship stems from how one participates in their community. If he participates and is a good citizen, no one will think to question him, which in turn will hopefully prolong his stay in the U.S. “I decided then that I could never give anyone reason to doubt I was an American” (Vargas). This idea is one shared by many undocumented immigrants as they live in fear of others learning the truth of the terms of their residency, causing them to live in a viscous cycle of stress and anxiety. Unlike many undocumented immigrants, Vargas chooses to step out of the shadow of fear and pursues a professional career in journalism even travelling around the country. “I’ve so internalized the axiom that I need to ‘earn’ my American citizenship that I’m uncertain if I’ve ‘earned’ the right to express myself in such personal terms” (Vargas 100). Unfortunately, his fixation on earning his citizenship also silenced his truth and kept him very closed off to letting people in on his personal life. The idea of participation has truly been a common practice in this country tracing back to even the early European settlers, but many generations later white Americans seem far removed from this fact. “We show up even though many Americans, especially white Americans with their own immigrant backgrounds, can’t seem to see the common threads between why we show up and why they showed up, when showing up didn’t require visas and the Border Patrol didn’t exist yet” (Vargas 201). Many white Americans fail to see the similarities in their ancestors’ arrivals and how the variety of the cultures at the time created the melting pot that is now the U.S. The difference is that the laws, if any, regulating European immigrants entering this country were not as strict as they are today. Immigrants play a vital role in our society and participate through labor, purchases that impact our economy, and even taxes. They are constantly contributing to a country that threatens to deport them despite actions that reflect those of a deserving citizen.

Vargas is a man of action; his life thus far has been filled with examples of extreme participation in this country with the hope to provoke change for all undocumented immigrants. After coming out of the shadows about his immigration story, Vargas founded Define America, an organization that looks to bring awareness to the stories of undocumented immigrants, and change the narrative around immigration language. “Calling someone an illegal immigrant is a poor way to describe someone who has broken an immigration law” (Define America). Often, people dehumanize immigrants with the vocabulary they choose to use in regards to immigration. As an immigrant, Vargas is looking to play a role to educate Americans who don’t understand how immigration works, its relation to citizenship, and how we can create a dialogue. Define America works vigorously at this while also providing a voice for other undocumented citizens around the country. Shortly after Trump was elected president, Vargas received an email invitation from Nancy PeloFesi to attend the president’s Joint Session of Congress. Trump’s campaign was built on a very anti-immigrant attitude, meaning Vargas was at a high risk of deportation if he chose to attend. “I came to the realization that I refuse to let a presidency scare me from my own country” (Vargas 199). Although many advised him otherwise, he is always determined to lead by example, causing him to attend regardless. He’s willing to put at risk his stay in America to continue to participate and speak up for voiceless undocumented immigrants, showing how authentically American he is despite birthplace. In 2014, Vargas was invited by a fellow activist to attend a vigil for Central American refugees in McAllen, Texas. Unfortunately, what he didn’t know is to leave the city, to enter the rest of the country, there is an ICE checkpoint. He was trapped. “I decided to continue what I’ve been doing since I stopped hiding who I am. To practice “radical transparency” (Vargas 217). He decided rather than give up and stay put he must try to leave, leading him to face ICE and ultimately be detained. His luck would have it that because of his social status, he was fortunate enough to have been let go after a few hours. When we think about America, many of us think of the concept that this is the home of the brave and free, yet many people here are not actually free. We know that Vargas as well as many other undocumented citizens are not free in the U.S., but no one can argue that they are not brave. Their choice to participate every day in this country, no matter the degree, is an act of bravery as they suppress the anxiety of potential deportation.

Through the idea that citizenship is defined through participation, we can now refer to these immigrants as undocumented citizens and acknowledge their experience fighting to be seen as American. Public Radio International spoke to Vargas about Trump’s desire to end birthright citizenship with the intention to not allow citizenship to children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants. “We have to ask ourselves not only the question of citizenship but how do we as a country and as people define who an American is?” (Chorvath). Many immigrants live an American life here in the U.S., yet they are not able to have the rights that citizens in this country are given. It seems that actions within this country are basically meaningless in regards to the path to citizenship. Undocumented immigrants are portrayed as villains across media, manipulating the masses to ignorantly judge and shun them. “Yet even though I think of myself as an American and consider America my country, my country doesn’t think of me as one of its own” (Vargas). If Americans take the time to actually understand how the immigration system works before placing judgement, they may feel differently and see that immigrants want what all people in this country want, to survive and offer their family opportunities that they did not have growing up. The common fear that many undocummented immigrants share is now changing in today’s youth as they continue to fight for their right to citizenship that they rightfully deserve. “I started reading stories about young undocumented Americans, many of them still in high school and college. Their rallying cry was: ‘We’re undocumented, unafraid, and unapologetic’” (Vargas 112). Today’s youth is embracing the concept of being an undocumented citizen by playing a more active role in society and fighting for themselves as well those in the shadows. In addition, one could argue they deserve a more accessible pathway to citizenship.

Vargas’ work questions how we define citizenship and calls for action to a more accessible route for obtaining it. His idea of participation redefines citizenship. Immigration is an essential part of what makes America, and with U.S. participation in neocolonialism it will inevitably continue. Some may argue that if we allow participation to be the determining factor in citizenship that we would overflow with people here and we would not have enough resources or jobs to accommodate the population. What they neglect to acknowledge is that immigrants are already here and are actually creating jobs by stimulating the economy.  In a country founded by immigrants that has people from all over the world, it’s clear that the path to citizenship is lengthy and limiting to many, an issue that needs to improve.

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