Jose Antonio Vargas: Defining American

Welcome to Into The Mix, a Ben & Jerry’s podcast about joy and justice.  This season, we’re swirling up inspiring stories from progressive heroes. People who didn’t set out to be activists, but found themselves stepping up for something bigger than themselves.  You might expect someone undocumented to stay invisible. Jose Antonio Vargas built a renowned career, won a Pulitzer Prize and then chose to reveal his truth. It changed his life and his life’s work in ways he never expected. Jose Antonio Vargas came to the United States from the Philippines at twelve years old. He grew up here, built a prolific career in journalism here, won a Pulitzer Prize here,  and did all of it without documentation. In 2011, he decided to self-report as undocumented and it changed his life, but not in the ways he expected. Jose’s story is about what it costs to be seen as an immigrant, and why the stories we tell about immigration need reform. The stakes couldn't be higher right now. How we talk about immigration matters– storytelling has always been a tool for immigrant rights, but in this climate, visibility can also mean vulnerability. Jose is calling on journalists to rethink how they report on immigration: humanity over othering, community over isolation. Jose sits down with Ashley C. Ford on this episode to discuss the alarming state of human rights in America today and how urgently the way we talk about it and report on it needs to change. You can follow Jose’s work with Define American to humanize the immigrant story here. Take action with the  ACLU and Ben & Jerry’s and demand all eyes on ICE Detention NOW HERE.  Music provided by Shearaton Carter: Slow Season, Epidemic Sound. Custom Music by: Rondell Patterson.