Over the weekend writer and immigration activist Jose Antonio Vargas was arrested in Minnesota for driving without a valid driver's license. He was taken into custody at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Friday morning and released the same day: Report: Immigrant Activist Jose Antonio Vargas Arrested In Minnesota.Vargas was in Minnesota for a speaking engagement. Fortunately, it looks like federal immigration authorities did not detain him or take any other action. He was charged with a misdemeanor and is scheduled to appeared in Hennepin County court on October 18: ICE decides not to detain Jose Antonio Vargas.
Vargas, a former Washington Post reporter who revealed his status in The New York Times Magazine and touched off a debate in the journalistic community, was initially pulled over by a state trooper for driving while wearing head phones, Eric Roeske, public information officer for the Minnesota state patrol, told POLITICO.'In a tweet, Jose said he was "fine" and thanked everyone for their support. So... I guess that's that. Don't drive with headphones in your ears. More here: Jose Antonio Vargas arrested for driving without a valid license.
"He did produce a Washington driver's license" after being pulled over, Roeske said. "When the trooper ran the license, it showed the status [of the license] was canceled. It also indicated there may have been fraudulent activity associated with the license. That's why [it might have been] canceled. That triggered the trooper to look into that further and contact ICE (U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement)."
