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

by Jose Antonio Vargas

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.  

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Immigration, Family, Biography, Middle Grade, LGBT

144 pages, Paperback

Published July 14, 2020

About the author

Jose Antonio Vargas is a journalist, filmmaker, and immigration rights activist. Born in the Philippines and raised in the United States from the age of twelve, he was part of The Washington Post team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting in 2008 for coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting online and in print. Vargas has also worked for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Philadelphia Daily News, and The Huffington Post. He wrote, produced, and directed the autobiographical 2013 film Documented, which CNN Films broadcast in June 2014.

In a June 2011 essay in The New York Times Magazine, Vargas revealed his status as an undocumented immigrant in an effort to promote dialogue about the immigration system in the U.S. and to advocate for the DREAM Act, which would provide children in similar circumstances with a path to citizenship. A year later, a day after the publication of his Time cover story about his continued uncertainty regarding his immigration status, the Obama administration announced it was halting the deportation of undocumented immigrants age 30 and under, who would be eligible for the DREAM Act. Vargas, who had just turned 31, did not qualify.

Vargas is the founder of Define American, a nonprofit organization intended to open up dialogue about the criteria people use to determine who is an American. He has said: "I am an American. I just don't have the right papers."

In September 2018 his memoir, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen, was published by Dey Street.

Reviews

[Mariah Roze · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows why we should not judge illegal immigrants, especially the children that were forced to come by their parents.

"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."

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I read this book for the Goodreads' Book Club Diversity in All Forms! Here is the link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Laura Resau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tender, moving, and important. The writing is simple and honest... and will shake you to your core. A must-read for tweens of all backgrounds. I think it would also be a great book for adult ESL students, or as a family read-aloud. This young readers' version is accessible, engaging, and important for children and adults alike. Stories like this inspire empathy and understanding among documented readers, and relatability and inspiration for undocumented readers... and ultimately, hopefully, unity and activism among all readers! Thank you for your bravery, Jose!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still need to read the adult version, but I loved the Young Readers' edition. I'm hoping to get a class set of this for my 7th graders.

Some of the book was a little choppy. It feels like the adult version was just chopped up and cut out to make this YR edition. In one chapter, Jose goes from watching The Joy Luck Club with his grandma to announcing to his history class that he is gay. It seemingly came out of nowhere and was never mentioned again! Overall, though, I did love this book and found myself bookmarking many passages that would be incredible to dissect with my class. Donors Choose coming soon....

[Bookfeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative read, especially under our current administration. I wish more would take the time to read and understand different perspectives.

Read this one for a school challenge with my 8 year old. The topic may be heavy for this age group, depending on your child. It gave us the opportunity to talk about immigration and it's affects. He thought it was interesting, asked questions, and liked the Tagalog.

[Laura Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️
Dear America: The story of an undocumented citizen by @joseiswriting belongs in every elementary and middle school library.
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This book is so rich for discussions on race and what it means to be an American. Book 22 for #30booksummer
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"Because I am not a citizen by law or by birth, I've had to create and hold on to a different kind of citizenship. I call it citizenship of participation. Citizenship is showing up. Citizenship is using your voice while making sure you hear other people around you. Citizenship is how you live your life."
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Jose Antonio Vargas was put on a plane at age 12 by his mother in the Philippines. He didn't discover that he was undocumented until he tried to get his driver's license and was told that his green card was a fake. With the support of an incredible group of people, his principal, superintendent, and more, he attended college and became a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Since publishing an essay in the @nytmag that outed himself as an undocumented immigrant, he has been detained, testified before Congress, and produced two documentaries. He's also on the board for @thedream_us, which is an incredible nonprofit to help dreamers attend college.
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There's so much in here to discuss with kids. Guaranteed to be one of my favorite reads of summer 2020, Dear America (young reader's edition) is concise, engaging, and powerful. Jose Antonio Vargas argues effectively that "Citizenship is defined by our actions —not by our immigration status" throughout the book. He's also written a book that underscores the anxiety that so many families and children feel about their immigration status and their place in this country.
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"When it came to the subject of race, my fourteen-year-old immigrant brain couldn't process it...As far as I could tell, "white" was not a country. Neither was "black." I looked at the maps. Are people "Asian" and "Hispanic" because Americans started labeling people "black" and "white"? Did America make all of this up?"
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#middleschoollibrarian #middleschoollibrary #library #librarian #futurereadylibs #iteachlibrary #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #librariesofinstagram #librariansofinstagram

[Christine Irvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The topic is on the news almost every day: illegal immigrants. Why are they here and what should we do about them? The current administration in DC makes it sound like these people are our enemies and we should do everything in our power to get them out of our country.

I just finished reading a very interesting book called DEAR AMERICA: The Story of an Undocumented Citizen BY Jose Antonio Vargas. Jose came to the United States, from Phillipino, when he was 12 years old so he could live with his grandparents. He was taken on a plane by someone who he thought was his uncle. Many years later, he found out that the person who took him on the plane had been paid by his family to get him to the US.

He didn’t know he was “undocumented” until he went to take a test for his driver’s license and was told that his green card was a fake. When he confronted his grandfather with the news, he was told the story.

As you can see, Jose is an undocumented immigrant. He calls himself a “citizen” of the US, even though he isn’t a legal one, because he feels like a citizen. He loves this country and he wants to be a part of it, but he has no legal documents to help him do that.

This is a story everyone should read as it highlights an issue that is front and center of our daily news. We need to educate the public about who undocumented immigrants really are, how they got here, how they are contributing to our society, and figure out ways to help them.

[Kelsey Nunez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an autobiography about Jose a Filipino immigrant. Jose was only a boy when his mom put him on a plane to America to live with his grandparents. When he lands in America he quickly has to adjust to a new way a life and he think he's got it down until he finds out the truth of his trip to America. He was brought over with a fake green card. He is illegal. This haunts him for his entire life but he doesn't let that stop him. he becomes an advocate for all immigrants. He wanted to help people and change the way Americans see immigrants and the way they are treated. I really enjoyed reading this book. Although, there is some parts I think could have been left out of the kids version of it because I think that they would loose interest in the book. Over all I think this a great autobiography and also a great way for children to learn a little bit about immigration in America.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m bugged I listened to the young reader’s (abridged) version. I really enjoyed Jose’s story and writing, but there is little chance I’m going to read the original book. I didn’t realize there were two versions. I listened to it and he reads it, so it was fun hearing the author.

Anyway his story is really intriguing about how he’s navigated being an undocumented citizen of the United States. I’ll let him tell his own story, but I’d definitely recommend this.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read. I think some of the jumping around with events may confuse some young readers.

[Lisa Finke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author does an incredible job describing what it's like to be undocumented.

[Anna McDonnell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dear America was a memoir about Jose Antonio Vargas, who immigrated to America illegally at the age of twelve. The story is about him finding his voice in America and paving the road of his future. Overall, the book was just okay. It jumped quickly between things a little too fast for me, leaving me confused at parts. It also moved fairly slowly, which of course makes sense considering it’s someone’s actual life, but still at parts I found myself losing interest quickly.

[Tori Seiberlich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a shift in perspective from how the media typically understands and speaks about undocumented immigrants. Reading Jose’s story gave insight into how and why some folks come to the United States illegally, and what that means for them and their futures here. I think this book would give most readers a more empathetic view of immigrants, documented and undocumented. It’s a fast read (less than 150 pages), so it would be easy to fly through if you want!

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOWWWW. Beautifully written and changed so many of my misconceptions

[Gulshan Naqvee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

[Cassie Mesarchik · Rating 5 out of 5]

*listened to the audiobook* this story and the stories of so many others are so important for us to take the time and listen to.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This first-person memoir/autobiography of an undocumented immigrant to the United States from the Philippines in the early 1980s presents an important and unique perspective, in a way that middle school and high school readers will easily relate to.

I’m glad for the young reader edition, which will make the content available in schools and libraries for the age group that needs to know about this situation - better to be introduced to these topics when your humanity and ability to empathize with an innocent victim of circumstance will override that tremendous pressure by society to follow laws strictly, and without forgiveness.

However, I feel that the relevant and related history about the United States, the Philippines, and Mexico, too, invade too much on the cohesive story of Vargas’s life, in the writing just as they evidently did on his actual life. While this provides a visceral experience for many readers, it also felt distracting, and in some cases jarring.

Although Vargas includes a mix of personal narrative and data, history, and information, the book lacks references source, notes, or further reading suggestions - a noticeable absence, given that the author is a journalist.

Nevertheless, Vargas provides an example of how all the other people in his life supported him in different ways, trying to overcome poorly-written, wrongheaded, racist laws about immigration that make it nearly impossible for the nation to efficiently and humanely welcome the immigrants we so badly need.

He makes a point that so many tens of thousands of immigrants, with or without legal documentation, within the allowed numbers and beyond them every year, are escaping difficult lives that were made more difficult by American foreign policy. This is such a crucial point to the issue that I wish he had elaborated on it for the young audience, who won’t have had the experience or knowledge to feel the deep truth and highest relevance of that statement.

I suppose I wanted the book to be a call to action on that specific point, as it is the biggest, most effective action American citizens can take; to influence our elected representatives to stop interfering with other nations, to craft a foreign policy that constrains multinational corporations, to standardize labor, environmental, & civil rights laws everywhere on the planet instead of just within American borders, etc. – so I felt disappointed.

Nevertheless, it’s a worthwhile book to read, and I hope young people will find it in our biography section.

[Lee Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read (young readers edition) but will be a great addition to my classroom library. Gives a different perspective as to what it means to be undocumented.

[Merrilyn Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Jose's mother put him on a plane with an "uncle" to America from the Philippines, Jose had no notion of the years of uncertainty ahead of him. As he grew up in Mountain View, California, with his grandparents, his knowledge of his undocumented citizenship status grew. For years, Jose lied about this status, but at last, the pretension had to stop. Jose had become a journalist who published an article in the New Yorker about being undocumented. He then waited to be arrested. When nothing happened, he went on to speak around the country, gaining fame and a solid backing of friends who stood behind him, financially and emotionally. Jose spoke to Congress twice, explaining his story. Nothing happened. Finally, as he joined a group at the Rio Grande to meet refugees coming across from Central America, he was at last caught. Winding up in holding cells with the refugees, Jose again found himself in no man's land: no one sent him back to the Philippines. This is still the case today. Jose waits and makes his case public, but nothing happens. Although this is a book for young readers, I think it is really aimed at older ones, maybe middle school and up. The technical and legal terms are complex. The fact that Jose came out as a gay man may also not be suitable for younger readers.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jose Antonio Vargas tells us the story of his life, which is a story of family, love, separation, lies, identity, belonging, and fear. From the moment he discovers he was brought to the U.S. illegally, everything in his life changed. We get to see how the status of "undocumented" impacts so many areas of life that most of us take completely for granted. Vargas explains how the immigration systems and policy works, which is not well. There is almost nothing someone like Vargas can do to attain legal status in the country he calls home, no way to get through the mess. The fact that he ended up in the holding cells with migrant children on the Texas border is no coincidence to my thinking. I appreciate hearing this story, to helping us to empathize with individuals in similar predicaments, humanizing where politics seeks to de-humanize. A well written, thought-provoking story and POV on America- a very necessary read.
Favorite Quotes: "In the beginning, writing was the only a way of passing as an American. I never expected it to be an identity. Above all else, I write to exist, to make myself visible" (p. 52); "Human is nothing something I should have to earn. Humanity is not some box I should have to check" (p.114).

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book! ❤️ Philippino immigrant, Jose Antonio Vargas, had no idea he was in America illegally until he was 16 years old. His moment of enlightenment came when he handed his green card to a lady at a desk at the DMV and she replied, “This is fake. Don’t come back here again.” Up until this moment his entire family had kept his illegal status a secret, even from him. I won’t tell you much more except to say that he went on to do some seriously amazing things, like having his stories published in Time, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, winning some seriously amazing awards, writing THIS BOOK, and filming some amazing documentaries, one of which was even nominated for an Emmy.
This book was so inspiring in all the best ways. It’s a short, easy read and really opened my eyes to some of the less obvious situations our country’s immigrants (those who came here legally and otherwise) go through every day. Loved it.

[Joecel Franco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a memoir of Jose Antonio Vargas. A writer who grew up in the Philippines but migrated to the United States when he was a kid dreaming about a better life. Growing up, Jose knew that he is an undocumented citizen. Nevertheless, knowing that he is undocumented didn't stop Jose to pursuing his passion for journalism. He did everything he could to get a better job, and he met amazing people along his journey.

This is a great book because it is a little short compared to his original memoir. Also, this is good book to use in my classroom to raise social issues like immigration. As an immigrant and fellow Filipino, I knew exactly what it feel like growing up here in the United States and some people might not accept you. Living here in the Unites States is hard enough let alone living here undocumented. Even though I knew what it feels like about other people not accepting you, I cannot imagine the hardships that Jose had to overcome as an undocumented citizen.

[Edna Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great honest memoir that is never forgotten by this great person. Jose Antonio Vargas is a native filipino boy. He migrated to the USA to have a better life since there was a war going on in his country at that time. His mother sent him to live with his grandparents and his uncle. Which everything in America looked different to him than was the American life in movies. He struggled to get a green card because when he was twelve years old he didn't know he was sent illegally to the US. This book is great because it asks questions about race, America, for example it asks what is it really to be an American? Who is defined to be an American? We all migrated from different parts of the world. Maybe not all people but our ancestors did. Many things have changed in immigration throughout time. Now, we still see people trying to migrate to the US from their country seeking a better life.

[Hannah Lewczynski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a great job of depicting the every day struggles and concerns “illegal” immigrants go through. Jose (which we learn is American-type-writer for José) is from the Philippines and comes to The United States with a coyote (which we learn is a person not related the child that lies and says they are to get the child across the U.S. border) and lives with his grandparents under a fake green card. This book made me realize just how little I know about the U.S. immigration system/laws and how much less I am required to know about my own country to be a citizen. This book makes me feel lucky to be born here so people can’t tell me I don’t belong here, but sad because not everyone has the luxury of walking around stress free knowing they could be sent back to a country they had to leave any day. I think anyone aged 12 and up should read this book, however it is nonfiction and sometimes it reads that way. However, most of the time the writing is diary like and natural.

[Noor Mahmood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book followed a young boy whose mom sent them across the world to go to America for more opportunities. But then he figures out he is undocumented because he was unaware. He found out by going to a DMV when the lady there told him to leave because he didn't have a real ID and it was fake. after reading this book I went and researched more about Jose because I was so interested in his life because he was so adventurous at a young age. He was working for large companies and writing papers about being undocumented. I think this is an important story to share because this is something millions of people go through in America because of how hard it is to become a citizen of the U.S. the process is very inconsistent and someone who applied 10 years ago could still be waiting to hear back and someone who applied a year ago could easily become a citizen.

[Rebecca Bennett · Rating 2 out of 5]

When beginning to read this book I was really interested in Jose's travel from the Phillipines as well as his home life in his home country. Though I was sadly dissapointed when he barley meantioned his home country in any detail at all as well as his younger years in America. The book very abrupty jumped from him moving to the states, to them all of a sudden trying to get jobs without showing his papers. It made me very aggrivated when he did not tell the readers that his grandfather died or that he and his grandmother rekindled their relationship until almost the very last chapter of the book. I am giving this book a 2/5 stars because i did enjoy learning about some of jose's experiences, exept i will not use this book in my classroom becasue it is too personal to only the author and not as relatable to other illeagle immagrants.

[Jamie Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really opened my eyes to so many things dealing with immigration. The fear and the secrecy can just eat people alive as shown in this story. Jose went through so many things of leaving his mother, not feeling like he fit in anywhere, living in fear, keeping secrets at a young age, and much more. He really struggled with his identity here in America. And on top of all of those things he is gay. Jose struggled with his status as an immigrant and was so fearful of what that could mean for his future. He had built his career and life in America, he knew nothing else, yet he could be sent back to his homeland at any time. It really shows how our immigration system is messed up and needs reformation. Obviously not everyone can come into America but the system needs to be better.

[Liz Friend · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story: Jose thought an uncle had accompanied him to America. He thought his green card was real. Then, he went to apply for a driver's license, and his world was changed forever: the "uncle" was a smuggler, and Jose's green card was a fake. Now, more than 25 years later, he talks about his decision to come out of the shadows and tell his story--and about the fear that he could be deported any day, any time.

June Cleaver's ratings: this book is non-fiction, so the ratings don't apply.

Liz's comments: Another thought-provoking book to help MS kids see immigrants as people in need of help and deserving respect.

[Morgan Drummond · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a true story and a memoir of Jose Antonio Vargas. It is a book about Jose journey on coming to America at a young age and learning he is not legal. He wants to be a fighter and stand up for people like him. He works hard and does not know what is going to happen in his life. This story had a good message and was interesting and sad because of all that he is going through. The story seemed a bit jumbled and hard to follow at times. They have one for younger readers and one for older. The older version just has more details. I feel this is a story that needed to get shared but it just was hard to follow at times.

[Colleen Roussel · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a truly inspirational biography of Jose Antonio Vargas. His bravery and courage lie far beyond anything I could ever do. I have gained a different perspective of immigration and what families must go through because of this story. Jose was a young boy when his mother put him on an airplane with his supposed “uncle” to America from the Philippines. At twelve years old he had to begin to live in a new world and make a life for himself despite challenge after challenge. This is a story about love and family. About changing America into a place for all immigrants, just like ourselves.

[Red Ball · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dear America is an interesting look into the life of an undocumented American. This nonfiction account of the author's life after being taken to the USA has many good insights but the pacing felt off. The chapters jumped around and felt disconnected to each other instead of telling a cohesive story. I feel like too much was edited out to make it into a “Young Reader’s” edition. The suspenseful sequence of events kept me interested enough to get to the ending. Good for upper elementary and middle school, plenty of good opportunities for discussions and analysis.