Jose Antonio Vargas, the Pulitzer-prize winning journalist who was the focus of the recent CNN documentary “Documented,” was released from the custody of U.S. Border Patrol agents this evening. Vargas, who is an undocumented immigrant having been brought to the U.S. as a child, was detained for much of the day in McAllen, Texas. DHS released Vargas because he had no prior immigration or criminal record.
Vargas’ detention was news on both “NBC Nightly News” and the “CBS Evening News” as part of the larger reporting on the crisis at the border.
CNN and MSNBC also covered Vargas’ detention throughout the day. Last night on her show, CNN’s Erin Burnett asked Vargas if he was “daring” authorities to arrest and deport him. Vargas said, “When I outed myself three years ago, my goal was to say, ‘I’m one of the 11 million people.’ I’m not asking for special treatment.”
Last month, in an interview with MediabistroTV, we asked Vargas if being an advocate meant he was no longer a journalist.