Dear America: Young Readers' Edition: The Story of an Undocumented Citizen

by Jose Antonio Vargas

Overview

In this young readers’ adaptation of his adult memoir Dear America, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and undocumented immigrant Jose Antonio Vargas tells his story, in light of the 12 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States.

Jose Antonio Vargas was only twelve years old when he was brought to the United States from the Philippines to live with his grandparents. He didn’t know it, but he was sent to the U.S. illegally.

When he applied for a learner’s permit, he learned the truth, and he spent the next almost twenty years keeping his immigration status a secret. Hiding in plain sight, he was writing for some of the most prestigious news organizations in the country. Only after publicly admitting his undocumented status—risking his career and personal safety—was Vargas able to live his truth.

This book asks questions including, How do you define who is an American? How do we decide who gets to be a citizen? What happens to those who enter the U.S. without documentation?

By telling his personal story and presenting facts without easy answers, Jose Antonio Vargas sheds light on an issue that couldn’t be more relevant.  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062914620
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/14/2020
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and Tony-nominated producer. His work has appeared internationally in Time magazine, as well as in the San Francisco Chronicle, The New Yorker, and the Washington Post. In 2014, he received the Freedom to Write Award from PEN Center USA. A leading voice for the human rights of immigrants, he founded the non-profit media and culture organization Define American, named one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company. An elementary school named after him will open in his hometown of Mountain View, California in 2019. 

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

1 Gamblers 1

2 The Wrong Country 4

3 Crittenden Middle School 9

4 Not Black, Not White 16

5 Filipinos 21

6 Mexican José And Filipino Jose 30

7 Fake 33

8 Playing A Role 41

9 Mountain View High School 50

10 An Adopted Family 57

11 Breaking The Law 62

12 Ambition 66

13 Strangers 71

14 Campaign 2008 76

15 Facing Myself 79

16 Public Person, Private Self 83

17 My Government, Myself 95

18 National Security Threat 101

19 Detained 107

20 Alone 112

21 Interview 116

22 Cycle Of Loss 120

23 Leaving / Staying 123

Acknowledgments 129