Jose Antonio Vargas revealed for the first time how immigration authorities finally caught up with him.
He became the face of undocumented immigrants in 2011 when he announced to the world his situation. Yet he has been able to travel freely and was not considered a high priority for law enforcement.
According to GMA, Vargas told CNN he was unaware when he traveled to Texas of the extensive checkpoints in the area he was visiting to show his support from the refugee children there.
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“Sadly, what happened to Jose Antonio is an experience that is all too common among undocumented immigrants. On a daily basis, countless immigrants—documented or otherwise—are subjected to being treated like common criminals, often being forced to unlawful searches and indefinite detentions. The conditions that immigrants are subjected to in lawless, constitution-free border zones are degrading and we as Americans must call on our government to implement humane policies concerning the treatment of immigrant in borders and international entry points. Kaya stands with Jose Antonio and other victims of these inhumane policies and calls for these rules to end.
“Mr. Vargas’ detention highlights the injustices that happen everyday to immigrants, refugees, and their families…In order to live up to our American ideal of being a nation of immigrants, it is imperative that there be a fair and humane response to the crisis at the border, and to the larger crisis that we face with the broken immigration system. We need Congress and the Obama Administration to provide solutions that stop criminalizing undocumented families trapped at the border, protect the human and legal rights of refugee children fleeing violence in Central America, and uphold critical due process protections for these children.”