Immigration and citizenship in the United States is often presented in the media in black and white terms: you are either legal or illegal. And if you’re in the latter category, the threat of deportation remains a constant fear, with 1100 people sent back to the native countries each day. However, for Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, his story is one that’s more complicated, and speaks to the lives of many in the U.S. whose status is something more complex.
Directed by Vargas and co-directed Ann Raffaela Lupo, “Documented” finds Vargas telling his own tale of being sent to America from the Philippines when he was twelve years old to live with his grandparents, staying the country where he went college, entered a career and journalism and more, all while keeping secret his true status. But after penning a column for the New York Times in 2011 outing himself as undocumented, it started a journey that forced Vargas to look hard at his past, understand the choices that were made, even if, as you’ll see in this exclusive clip, it put his ability to stay in the United States on the line.
“Documented” opens in limited release on Friday, May 2nd at New York’s Village East Cinemas, followed by additional cities around the country, and will air this summer on CNN.
