Almost a year ago, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas "came out" as an undocumented immigrant. In the cover story of this week's TIME, Jose shares about the year he's had since publicly disclosing his immigration status, the thousands who have come forward to stand with him in the immigrant rights movement, and the ongoing struggle to fix our nation's broken system: Inside the World of the 'Illegal' Immigrant.
There are an estimated 11.5 million people like me in this country, human beings with stories as varied as that of the U.S. itself yet who lack a legal claim to exist here. It’s an issue that touches people of all ethnicities and backgrounds: Latinos and Asians, blacks and whites. (And yes, undocumented immigrants come from all sorts of countries, like Israel, Nigeria and Germany.) It’s an issue that goes beyond election-year politics and transcends the limitations of our broken immigration system and the policies being written to address them.That cover is badass. It's a powerful statement. And considering today's big announcement, it just feels damn right. If you're a TIME subscriber, you can read the full story here: Not Legal Not Leaving.
In the year since my public disclosure, at least 2,000 undocumented Americans — and we are, at heart, Americans — have contacted me and outed themselves, either in person or online through e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. Across the country, every day, more and more undocumented Americans and the people who support us are speaking out, challenging how our politicians, the media and the Supreme Court (in its expected decision on Arizona’s immigration law) frame the issue. This week in TIME magazine and on TIME.com we spotlight the growing immigration-rights movement and the ins and outs of the citizenship process.