Immigration Debate: 'Define American' Gathers Stories About American Identity

After freshman year of high school, Julia Duperrault's best friend, Mandeep, shared a secret.

"She told me she is an undocumented immigrant," Duperrault said in a new feature from Define American, an advocacy organization dedicated to "changing the conversation about immigration."

"You know those people who just come over the border and aren't supposed to be here?" Duperrault recalled her best friend as saying. "Well, I'm like that."

Define American was founded by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, who revealed his own secret in a June New York Times Magazine article: he, too, is undocumented.

"It means going about my day in fear of being found out," wrote Vargas, who was 12 when he came to the U.S. from the Philippines in 1993. "It means rarely trusting people, even those closest to me, with who I really am. It means keeping my family photos in a shoebox rather than displaying them on shelves in my home, so friends don't ask about them. It means reluctantly, even painfully, doing things I know are wrong and unlawful."

Define American's new story feature, available on its website, enables any "immigrant, immigrant ally, or citizen to digitally share their story via videos, audio, photos or text," the organization said in a statement. It allows "anyone, anywhere to share their personal experiences as well as thoughts and beliefs about what it means to be an 'American' today."

"I shared my personal story to lay bare the realities and complexities of living as an undocumented immigrant," Vargas said. "But I'm just one person; it's just one story."

Already, some 500 stories have been assembled from an eclectic mix of Americans, including pundit and comedian Stephen Colbert, hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons, New Jersey Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, Craigslist.org founder Craig Newmark, and Twilight: New Moon and A Better Life director Chris Weitz.

A compelling story comes from blogger Julie Erfle, an Arizona resident whose husband, a Phoenix police officer, was killed by an undocumented immigrant. She favors "sensible immigration reform."

"After my husband's death, many had hoped that I, a white, middle class woman, would heed the call for punitive and enforcement-only immigration policies," she said. "But that's a band-aid. One that fails to address the underlying problems, or offer any type of long term solutions.

"Instead it creates a wedge issue, one that encourages division, and fear, and myths, and shuts down the very dialogue that could bring about solutions. I refuse to be part of that equation because America can do better."

In some parts of the country, the calls for immigration reform are being heard. Last month, Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 131, the second bill of the two-part California Dream Act, allowing undocumented immigrant students to apply for state-funded financial aid for college.

Last week, New York's Board of Regents supported a state version of the federal DREAM Act, the un-passed bill that would grant some undocumented young people legal status in exchange for two years of college or military service.

Duperrault said her best friend is the sister she never had. Mandeep was a pre-med student after graduating with honors from Los Altos High School in California. When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement threatened to deport Mandeep, Duperrault and other friends and supporters mounted a petition drive. Thousands of people rallied around her cause on the Internet. Her deportation was temporarily halted, leaving her best friend in "limbo."

"Mandeep, the one voted most likely to save the world defines American and I stand by her side," Duperrault said.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story identified New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez as a Republican. He is a Democrat. Also, Julia Duperrault was in her first year of high school, not college, when her best friend admitted to being an undocumented immigrant.

Comments

[Al Finnell]

09:00 AM on 06/16/2012

Insanity - Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Albert Einstein.
I have a question. Is there a successful Catholic nation in the world? Please name one.
The third party is the Catholics. There are more D Catholics than R Catholics. The Catholics take no prisoners, they do not negotiate. Be Catholic or dead. This is why everything south of the US border is a hundred percent Catholic. Catholics are the "shadow party", and vote as a bloc across party lines. This is why only pro Vatican items get passed. Thus, the borders remain open. the illegal aliens have illegal "citizens" all of them Catholic.
This is also why California has a broken government. California has had a Catholic governor for 20 years. CA has had a Catholic legislature for more than 20 years. The US has 30 percent Catholics (R and D) in the legislature. This is also why the US has not had a budget for 4 years. A 30 percent bloc prevents any meaningful legislation from passing. In addition 67 percent of the SCOTUS is Catholic.
Failure of a hundred nations and a thousand years is the Catholic legacy.
Vote the Catholics (R and D) out of office, and the bloc will be gone and the Constitution can be restored.

[alpina]

05:59 PM on 11/17/2011

I am an actual American citizen, so can you please direct me to the Defiining Mexican project so I can comment on what it truly means to be a mexican, since I'm not one either.

[xs10shl]

04:08 PM on 11/18/2011

Love your logic and it made me smile. No, laugh,....I read it again.....your clever.

[markspence]

04:35 PM on 11/16/2011

Mr. Vargas is going to talk himself right out of this country.

[dtairtime]

05:05 PM on 11/16/2011

We can hope for that change.

[Contact1972]

05:15 PM on 11/16/2011

That would make sense-throwing someone intelligent out of the country.

[abused citizen]

04:27 PM on 11/16/2011

Illegal aliens are not qualified to define what it means to be American as they are not American.
They may be qualified to define what it means to be Ukranian, Iranian, Irish, Mexican, or other country of citizenship.

[J Michael Norris]

02:40 AM on 11/17/2011

Mexicans, Canadians, Venezualans, Puero Ricans, Braziilans and plenty of others are also Americans. You might want to look at a globe.

[KaliKross]

10:13 AM on 11/17/2011

What a distorted view you attempt to spin here. Fail!

Everyone knows that, when one speaks of an American, he/she is talking about someone from the US. Of course, there are South, Central, and North Americas. But we're not talking about continental citizenship, are we?

Perhaps it would do you well to review basic politics and history. Puerto Ricans ARE American citizens, so including them in your short-list only makes you appear ignorant. Good job!

[BlairCase]

06:24 PM on 11/17/2011

If you look at the globe, you will discover that there is no continent named "America." North America and South America are two separate continents joined by a ismuth name
Central America, which is actually a tapered extention of the North American continental plate. Brazillilans are South Americans but not Americans. Mexican citizens are North Americans" but not "Americans." The term "American" designates nationality. It's not a geographic designation. It applies only to U.S. citizens because the United States of America is the only nation that has America as part of its name. The official name of Mexico is the "United States of Mexico."

[KaliKross]

10:07 AM on 11/17/2011

Fanned!

[hrpmap]

04:00 PM on 11/16/2011

What does it mean to be American? Not expressing allegience to another country like the Mexican studants at Montebello high did by flying the Mexican flag over the upside down American flag.

[DanInLA]

03:04 PM on 11/16/2011

Citizen = Property of the Corporation of the US. It seems one must trade in their minds in exchange for becoming a member of this club. Legal and illegal have very little to do with right and wrong anymore.

[PaulC1958]

05:58 PM on 11/17/2011

Of course you are kidding when you say, "legal and illegal have very little to do with right and wrong!" Just remember what you said when some foreign worker takes your job or the job of one of your loved ones. Remember, there is a foreign worker somewhere in the world who is just as qualified or more qualified to do your job than you are, and will happily do it for far less money and no benefits. If we refuse to protect our fellow citizens from foreign job competition, both here at home and overseas, eventually everyones income will hit equilibrium at the lowest level anywhere in the world. Is that really what you want? Stop buying into the propaganda spewing from both major political parties.

[johntao]

02:56 PM on 11/16/2011

Is there any chance that people will acknowledge that millions of undocument immigrants are in the U.S. because we wanted them here for cheap labor? I'm not saying every U.S. citizen was in favor of that, or even that it was a good idea -- but the plain truth of the matter is: that was our de-facto policy for most of the past 25 years. Please stop acting like we are somehow passive victims of these "horrible invaders".

While we're telling the truth, lets be honest about taxes. These folks pay rent - part of which pays property taxes - most of which goes to public schools. They also pay sales tax. As far as income tax goes, half of U.S. filers don't pay any income tax.

And don't get too caught up in the nomenclature of "illegal" vs "legal" -- slavery was legal, the Trail of Tears was legal, internment camps for Japanese Americans were legal. Focus instead on what is right, particularly given our role via the de-facto policy of bringing cheap labor into the U.S.

[spytheweb]

09:29 PM on 11/16/2011

I never brought any cheap labor into the country.

You're missing one fact, there have been more Americans killed by illegal aliens then there were killed on Sept 11th 2001 or since in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan put together. Killed by people who were never suppose to be in the country, who is against the law being in the country, have no right to be in the country.

http://www.ojjpac.org/memorial.asp

[johntao]

12:27 AM on 11/17/2011

@Spy - I'm surprised that ridiculous myth is still floating around the internet. Don't worry, you're safe. Interestingly enough, credible studies have actually shown that, adjusted for socioeconomic factors, undocumented immigrants are less criminal than their native counterparts. Criminality increases for 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants -- so maybe they should be worried about the effect our country has on them!!

[KaliKross]

10:21 AM on 11/17/2011

Good idea! They should worry enough to stay home! "[N]ative counterparts"? By the sentence that follows, it appears you're comparing the parents to their anchor brats; so two illegals equals 4-5 potential criminals/anchors. You just proved spytheweb's point.

[Contact1972]

02:46 PM on 11/16/2011

If and when we create a newer immigration system,(and I hope we do since the one we have is antiquated at best)it MUST include provisions for GLBT Americans. We have no legal way to sponsor our foreign born partners. This is absolutely unfair and unjust.

[iuriggs6]

01:54 PM on 11/16/2011

More sob stories....

[randyjet]

01:09 PM on 11/16/2011

It is very simple to define. An American is a US citizen who has the right to be here. Even naturalized citizens can LOSE their citizenship if they have committed a felony and be deported no matter HOW long they have lived here. Just ask the Mafia folks who were stripped of their citizenship and sent packing home. Think that just because they lived here most of their lives make them have the right to stay here no matter what?

[Picosa]

01:47 PM on 11/16/2011

You left some Americans out.

Definition of AMERICAN

1: an American Indian of North America or South America

2: a native or inhabitant of North America or South America

3: a citizen of the United States
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/american?show=0&t=1321468616

[randyjet]

02:51 PM on 11/16/2011

I think that the point of this blog is to define American for those who live in the USA. Playing word games is good for kids.

[thebarse]

11:10 PM on 11/17/2011

We'd like to leave a lot more out.

[Van The Man]

12:56 PM on 11/16/2011

Jose Antonio Vargas lied to his employers, used faked and stolen documents, committed identity theft, knowingly and willfully committed perjury when purposely lying when signing official government documents--after being warned, in writing--that knowingly misstating the facts would be a crime. He lied anyway.

He lied when he obtained a Washington State driver's license--which Washington finally rescinded--and he lied to obtain employment with the Seattle Times. He "won" the Pulitzer Prize--as one of 50 others on a team of writers who were cited for their collective contributions to a series of articles, some he took part in writing and others he didn't.

In spite of all this--and while being and Illegal Alien--he, of course, is still in the country and remains happily uncharged with a single, solitary thing. Remember, it ain't over until the Illegal wins.

[TiffanyNC]

12:36 PM on 11/16/2011

This is a really fascinating article! And I look forward to watching all the videos. The best way to relate this cause is to put a face to it.

I'm currently heading a campaign similar to this - it's a t-shirt campaign called "Do I Look Like an American to You". The idea is to challenge the concepts of what it means to be an "American". Along with immigration, we look at things like religion or heritage or skin color or any other thing that may have impacted or continues to impact what people considered to be American. The shirts are meant to instead highlight the diversity of our country, to spark conversation, to inspire people to reconsider what they think it means to truly be an American. If you are interested in this - please check out our facbeook page! We'd love this to be a national movement!

http://www.facebook.com/doilookamerican

[brookmo]

12:30 PM on 11/16/2011

If you are here lillegally GO HOME! End of discussion.

[cmr86]

12:47 PM on 11/16/2011

If you can't spell, go back to school. End of discussion.

[Picosa]

01:01 PM on 11/16/2011

“Will the real, "illegal" please stand up?

In the various discussion­­s of so-called “illegals­­,” one historical fact is always overlooked­­: America’s own holocaust directed against Native Americans, carried out by uninvited foreigners who came to these shores and took everything they could.

Surely the deaths of tens of millions of Native Americans at the hands of marauding, manipulati­­ve European immigrants during a 400-year span should be worth bearing in mind.

U.S. history brims with brutal, bloody instances of inhuman European immigrant actions that are far removed from basic aspiration­­s so often associated with today’s immigrants­­.

The unauthoriz­­ed workers in this country dream of a better life and seek to escape the poverty and repression engendered by U.S. imperialis­­m.

Unlike earlier immigrants and the perpetual forces they set into motion, today’s immigrants are NOT plotting to seize others’ property, kill babies and earn bounties based on body parts brought back from raids.

The wholesale abuse of Native Americans continues to this day, and it springs from the same destructiv­­e capitalist practices that were brought here by Europeans long ago.

As I listen to some people call other people “illegals" I wonder: How could it possibly be that their ancestors were considered to be “legal” while immigrants now are considered “illegal"?

Mahtowin Munro

Mahtowin Munro is a member of the Lakota Nation and co-leader of United American Indians of New England (UAINE)
http://cacreview.blogspot.com/2006/06/reclamation-of-indigenous-continent.html

[cmr86]

01:07 PM on 11/16/2011

Not to mention the fact that Yankee ingenuity rested solely on Southern cotton up until the 1850s. Southern cotton picked by enslaved men, women, and children.

Or, the fact that after the acquisition of Hawaii and the Spanish-American war we came an extrinsically imperial power (we had finished the imperial conquest of the indigenous peoples).

[KaliKross]

02:24 PM on 11/16/2011

"Unlike earlier immigrants and the perpetual forces they set into motion, today’s immigrants are NOT plotting to seize others’ property, kill babies and earn bounties based on body parts brought back from raids."

Just because acts don't appear overtly doesn't mean they don't exist. Urban property is seized by the incoming destruction via vandalism and graffiti as well as deflation of property values. The influx forces citizens from their communities as they flee violence and destruction.

Babies killed? Have you read the papers? International thugs are gunning down citizens on the basis of race. So many African American children have been killed just walking to and from school, children murdered by Latino gang members who use killing African Americans as a means of proving themselves within their gangs.

In fact, it's quite satirical that you even mention killing babies since you're referring to a group of people who take pride in being linked to antiquated, primitive cultures that sacrificed babies to their "gods".

Perhaps it would behoove you to read up on the Mexican and Salvadoran drug cartels and the kinds of violence they commit. Start with the "stew-maker" and see how much more you can keep reading before you're sickened by their criminality.

[mashtoe]

12:21 PM on 11/16/2011

I wish these students had sympathy for all the unemployed Americans who lost their jobs in construction to illegals. And I wish these students had sympathy for America students who can't get into classes they need because of illegals who are taking the few available seats.

The American middle class is in decline and it will remain in decline as long you refuse to fight against labor market deregulation (illegal labor is a deregulation of labor markets), end all work visas, and end free trade with communist China. Until you are willing to fight nothing can change. As long as you keep wanting to take the easy way out. If you have a roommate who is an illegal you should report them for deportation. That is the hard thing to do. But other Americans are depending on you to do it. American children need their parents to have jobs. You need to be loyal to America. If you can't defend America from illegals then we are doomed.

Don't complain about falling wages if you can't do the right thing and report illegals.

[Viper1st]

01:09 PM on 11/16/2011

ICE Toll Free ~ 1.866.347.2423

To report Unscrupulous U.S. Employers hiring illegals in the Federal Felony violation of U.S.C. 8 § 1324a : US Code - Section 1324A: Unlawful employment of aliens

Also works to ~

Report 11.2 million illegals, unauthorized to work in the USA ~ in violation of U.S.C. 8 § 1325 : US Code - Section 1325: Improper entry by alien

[Picosa]

02:12 PM on 11/16/2011

What do students have to do with Republican tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of the middle class and poor, 2 wars, one based on a lie, and the outsourcin­g of 8 million jobs by Bush and the Republican­s that have caused the issues you complain about. NOTHING.

Does Immigration Cost Jobs?

Economists say immigration, legal or illegal, doesn't hurt American workers.

...whether they’re legal,... or illegal, really doesn’t matter for the purpose of answering our question: The truth is that immigrants don’t "take American jobs," according to most economists and others who have studied the issue.

Immigrant workers "create almost as many" jobs as they occupy, "and maybe more," said Madeleine Sumption, policy analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, which is funded by a range of foundations, corporations and international organizations. "They often create the jobs they work in." In addition, "they buy things, and they make the economy bigger," she told us.

There may be other reasons for an overhaul of current immigration policy. But the idea that foreign-born workers are stealing American jobs should be turned back at the border.
http://www.factcheck.org/2010/05/does-immigration-cost-jobs/

[hrpmap]

04:13 PM on 11/16/2011

Factcheck.org is a George Soros pawn site. http://www.americanthinker.com/2004/10/soros_plays_games_with_the_fac.html

[Picosa]

08:58 PM on 11/16/2011

Your link presents no evidence that the economists used as sources for this report work for George Soros. Until you do your point is moot.

economists Madeleine Sumption, policy analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, which is funded by a range of over 65 foundations, corporations and international organizations

and her colleague

Will Somersville, Senior Policy Analyst at the Migration Policy Institute
Education: London School of Economics and Political Science, University of Leeds Summary: I provide policy analysis and strategic advice to governments, NGOs, and foundations in Europe and North America.

and

economist David Griswold, director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies at the libertarian Cato Institute

and

economist Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute - a liberal think tank that has been funded in part by U.S. labor unions... ...the White House of Republican President (George W Bush)...

all work for George Soros. PROVIDE A LINK

Factcheck gathered evidence from these credible economists, they didn't ask factcheck if it would use their findings.

[shankapotomus]

12:06 PM on 11/16/2011

Is he still here and what was he doing in college?

[Aries Warrior]

12:17 PM on 11/16/2011

He would have had to LIE on his college application.

[massjim]

12:27 PM on 11/16/2011

Ask Harvard about that.
Lie on your application ... shame on you, you are kicked out! UNLESS you are illegal, then you are a great hero.