and where you might be headed. and just when you think your journey has reach eed an end, y will be surprised to find it's only just beginning, but you will keep going because it's will keep going because it's your journey, wherever it goes. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com growing up in the philippines, i always knew i was going to america. america seemed inevitable.

what i remember most about manila was the air. there was something about the air that was heavy. my mother and i lived in a small house. we slept in the same bed. we were always together. we were inseparable. one morning, my mother woke me up. my suitcase was packed, a cab waited outside for me. when i got to the airport, i was introduced to a man i had never met. he held my hand as i boarded an airplane for the first time. it was 1993. i was 12. >> hi. i'm jose antonio vargas contributing for cnn.com. >> jose antonio vargas of "the washington post" thank you for

your insight. >> jose vargas is from the huffington post in new york. >> jose antonio vargas is a pulitzer prize winning journalist. >> his rare exclusive interview with founder and ceo of facebook mark zuckerberg is in this week's "new yorker." >> i lived the american dream. building a successful career as a journalist. but i was living a lie. >> do you swear that the testimony you're about to give before the committee be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god? >> yes. >> i got invited to talk to the journalism class of my high school, mountain view high

school. i co-edited the school paper and talking to the journalism class, the oracle, which is where i got my start. i owe a lot to this community so any chance that i can like actually do something, i try to do it. >> we're very fortunate to have jose. >> thank you for taking the time. i can't think of a more exciting time to be a journalist. i am working right now on illegal immigration. know what the dream act is? basically kids who are undocumented who got here when they were young, they are undocumented immigrant but have gone through college or high school or middle school so there should be a path to citizenship, right? some people call it amnesty. some people say it's not these kids' fault that they're here. i wonder if there are any dream act -- sir, do you know if there are a lot of dream act kids in this school district? there are. yeah. let me ask you this question. who do you think, can you give me some sort of, if you were to

describe to me who is somebody who is undocumented or an illegal alien or undocumented immigrant, what do you start thinking? yeah. >> i'm not trying to be racist. but like, hispanic, people, just in that area? >> yeah. >> that's just from my perspective. i know there are a bunch of others but i get that mindset. >> yeah. we all know the day laborers who hang out on el camino. they are looking for jobs outside of home depot. they're not the only people who are undocumented. so i'm going to tell you something. that i haven't told a lot of people. okay? so i'm actually an undocumented immigrant. i am an illegal alien person, sort of. i mean, i am. i just don't like to use the word illegal alien phrase. i'm about to come out about this nationally.

i'm coming out, i'm writing a story about my being undocumented. i'm launching a whole campaign about what it means to be an american and the fact that i am an american. no -- oh, don't clap. no, no, no. there are 11 million undocumented people in this country. we serve you food at chipotle, we work at your houses, we mow your lawns, maybe we are doctors, or nurses. we're not who you think we are. yeah? what were you going to say? >> maybe this is a stupid question but aren't you afraid of any repercussions? >> oh, god, yes. oh, my god, it's terrifying. this is definitely the riskiest thing i have ever done. i'm in this to have some sort of impact. >> my name is ron rodriguez. i'm 20 years old and i came to the united states when i was 6 years old. >> my name is felipe and i'm 23.

i was born in rio, brazil. >> in 2010, i started watching youtube videos of young people called dreamers, undocumented students fighting for a bill called the dream act, which would give them legal status in america. >> the dream walkers are spending today in albany on their five-month journey. >> undocumented students risk arrest -- >> they risk deportation by speaking up and coming out. in some cases, they risk their lives. >> -- should be eradicated whatever means it takes. >> we speak english! >> all my life, i have hidden the fact that i was undocumented, terrified of what might happen to me. as i watch these young people, i felt like a coward. >> there was a point in 2009

where the stuff that we were doing, the rallies, us standing outside of detention centers, wasn't enough. we decided that we were going to do this walk, that we were going to go to the heart of america and we were going to walk through the south and we wanted to go from city to city, telling our stories. we didn't know the impact that it was going to create immediately. it was more than anything, this desire to be seen as an american. >> we are undocumented, unafraid, unapologetic. >> a major blow for those pushing for immigration reform for younger undocumented immigrants. today, the senate voted against the dream act. >> but this is a measure that would have provided a path to citizenship for these young people. it just failed. >> maybe my biggest disappointment was this dream act vote. i get letters from kids all across the country, even though i feel american, i am an american, the law doesn't recognize me as an american.

and i'm at risk of deportation. and it is heartbreaking. that can't be who we are. >> my silence was no longer bearable. i couldn't sit on the sidelines anymore. i had to do something. i had to join the fight. i gathered three close friends, all media and political strategists, to develop a plan. >> can we write the mission statement? >> on our first meeting, we formed a campaign called define american. >> heighten awareness and increase understanding of the plight of undocumented immigrants and secure a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. >> we would launch the campaign with an essay in the "new york times" in which i revealed my status as an undocumented immigrant. >> after we come out, we should

arrange a meeting on the hill, maybe with staffers, maybe with the senators themselves. >> the story has to come out first. >> if jose was just a normal undocumented -- clearly he's normal, but if he didn't have access to some of these individuals, what would that process be like, just from, you know, the papers that would need to be filled out? >> there are no papers. that's the thing. there's nothing to do until you get picked up of ft -- picked up. >> isn't that amazing? >> there is no path he can take and say i have been undocumented this entire time, i'm ready to fix this and i'm going to start the process by -- >> that's what reform would look like. when we talk about reform, comprehensively, that's what it would be, giving people a mechanism by which they can come forward. >> this can't just be about me. if for some reason, some magical reason it's like oh, i don't want to be in that position that

i am taken care of and other people aren't. >> the good news is, i don't think you are going to be lucky enough. that's fine and we will cross that bridge -- >> when we get there. >> -- when we come to it. >> i have written hundreds of articles throughout my career, but this was different. this was personal. >> can you imagine all my fake documents are going to be for everybody to see? >> lawyers told me it was legal suicide. i could never be employed once i revealed my status. worse, i could get deported. >> this is what we call the truth. this is my mom. >> relatives were worried. i was exposing a family secret and i was exposing them. the essay was published in the "new york times" magazine. they called it "outlaw." i wanted to write the article not only for myself, but for countless others who couldn't write it. being undocumented means living a different kind of reality.

it means going about my day in fear of being found out. it means reluctantly, even painfully, doing things i know are wrong and unlawful. it means being separated from family. it's been almost 18 years since i have seen my mother. i'm done running. i'm exhausted. i don't want that life anymore. okay, listen up! i'm re-workin' the menu.

mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™.

[ bottle ] ensure®. so what i'm saying is, people like options. when you take geico, you can call them anytime you feel like saving money. it don't matter, day or night. use your computer, your smartphone, your tablet, whatever. the point is, you have options. oh, how convenient. hey. crab cakes, what are you looking at? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

♪ ♪

this is abc world news with diane sawyer. >> we want you to meet one of the most successful young men in this country, stepping out of the shadows to tell you a secret. >> for jose antonio vargas it's been a brilliant career in journalism. >> all through this, you're carrying a huge secret. >> there wasn't a moment that i wasn't thinking about it. >> you are an illegal alien. >> no, i'm an undocumented -- >> you are illegal. you're not even illegal alien.

you are what we in the american world call an illegal. >> well, actually. >> no, no. you are an illegal. i think i broke a law just having you in my studio. >> first, he's not an undocumented immigrant. he's an illegal alien, a law breaker. there he is, i.n.s. now go get him. undocumented immigrant is to illegal alien as undocumented pharmacist is to a drug dealer. by the way, this is the progressive site. so we'll see what happens when we get to the conservative ones. ♪

>> our next guest disclosed that he is an illegal immigrant in the "new york times." >> the one thing i want to make sure i say this, i have grown up watching you. i have, i have. i just want you to think of all the kids sitting in classrooms across america every year, 65,000 undocumented people graduate from high school. i remember sitting in my classroom thinking in mountain view where i grew up, whenever somebody referred to me as illegal -- >> were you? >> i am a human being. >> yeah. do you want to be called a human being? >> well, i want to be called a human being and undocumented immigrant, unauthorized. words matter in that regard, sir. >> words do matter. do you know what, if you can't accept the reality that you're illegal and -- >> that i'm here without authorization. yes. >> excuse me. correct. if you can't accept that, there's no way to move forward. >> i would love to figure out how you and i in a conversation,

to define american. to have a conversation where we can find a solution, where we can meet halfway. >> we're not going to meet halfway. >> yes, we will. >> let me explain something. we're not going to meet halfway. that isn't going to happen. this is not a negotiation. we are a nation of laws. we are a nation of sovereign borders. we are a compassionate and welcoming nation, and where we're going to meet will be at that frontier of american values that you want to embrace. right? >> i do embrace them. >> so there's no compromise. be an american. embrace america and everything we stand for, and leave the bull wherever that shadow was that you were once in. you are going to enjoy it out in the bright light. it's a great country. don't you think? >> it's a beautiful country. >> jose, thanks for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> so it's been a few weeks and i haven't gotten deported.

the only thing that's happened so far since coming out is my driver's license got revoked, which is kind of a big deal, because it's my only form of government-issued i.d. so thankfully, the philippine embassy here in new york gave me a filipino passport so this is a passport that i can use as a form of i.d. the problem is, there is no -- there is no visa in the passport which means that once i show this to the tsa people at the airport, as i.d., if they see that there's no visa in it, they can actually call border patrol and they can, i guess, detain me. so i guess we'll just see if that happens. ♪

♪ >> why is it that when we talk about immigration in this country, we always frame it as a problem and not as a solution. >> immigration is not just a latino issue, this is not just about mexicans and the border. >> not everybody who is undocumented is mexican. a million of the 11 million undocumented people in this country are actually from asia. about 800,000 from south america. 300,000 actually from europe, undocumented french, polish, irish, german people. >> in 2010, undocumented people like me actually paid $11.2 billion in taxes.

>> it's about citizenship. it's what we are as a country and who we are as a country and what our future is going to be, not just economically but culturally. when we talk about this combustible, controversial polarizing issue that is immigration, are we even on the same page? i don't think we are. the one the bank sees?, [ male voice ] sheesh, i feel like i'm being interrogated over here. [ male voice ] she's onto us. dump her. [ pay phone rings ] hello? oh, man. that never gets old. no, it does not. [ female announcer ] not all credit report sites are equal. experian.com members get personalized help and a real credit report. join now at experian.com with enrollment in experian credit tracker. [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans

that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪

my mom works at ge. could help your business didavoid hours of delaynd test caused by slow internet from the phone company? that's enough time to record a memo. idea for sales giveaway. return a call. sign a contract. pick a tie. take a break with mr. duck. practice up for the business trip. fly to florida. win an award. close a deal. hire an intern. and still have time to spare.

check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business. built for business. now i would like to take a moment to introduce our esteemed guest this evening. he was born in the philippines and emigrated to the united states as a child. he has since become a very successful journalist and has begun his campaign, define american, that seeks to elevate the immigration conversation. we are pleased and honored to welcome mr. jose antonio vargas. >> i want to be up front about

who i am and who i am not. i'm not a leader. i'm not an organizer. that's not what i do. i spent more than a decade of my life as a journalist. i am also, as many of you know, one of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in our country. immigration is stories, so here's my story. i'm in america because of the sacrifices of my family. my grandparents legally emigrated from the philippines to the u.s. and arrived in the silicon valley in the mid 1980s. my grandfather decided he was going to save money to get his only grandson, that was me, to come to america. >> this is the house that i grew

up. when i arrived from the philippines here in 1983, i was 12 so this was my home. this is my home and guess what, it hasn't changed one bit. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> my lola can tell you the weather in manila. she can tell you the weather in san francisco, an hour away. my memory of her going to the philippines was like looking like a donya, that's what we

would call it, a rich woman. she would send these bags of kisses and dial soap and planters peanuts and spam was a big deal, spam. i just remembered our lives being so dependent on the allowance that would come from lolo and lol ark. [ speaking a foreign language ]

>> i arrived here on august 3rd, 1993 at the los angeles international airport. i remember asking if we were in the wrong country, because i saw the wrong people. when i thought of america, i pictured "baywatch." i thought of michael jackson. one of the things i remember watching in the philippines was the interview between oprah winfrey and michael jackson. i soon found out that america isn't just michael jackson, oprah winfrey and "baywatch." when i got here, i thought it was going to be like the "fresh prince of bel air." i imagined that we would have this like mansion, you know, where like money is just like everywhere, and there's spam everywhere. i didn't know that lola was a food server.

i didn't know that my grandfather was a security guard. i don't think lolo made more than $10 an hour his whole life. i just assumed that they were really wealthy. you know, there's a saying in the philippines, you just hold on to the knife and they basically just held on and so once i realized how hard it was to send money every month, that it wasn't just something you pick off a tree and just send, i think the way i thought about my mother changed. [ speaking a foreign language ]

>> i bought this for lola a long time ago, like two years ago. isn't that amazing? i wear your watch. it's not even working. there's no batteries. i only wear it because you gave it to me. isn't that nice? >> how can you use it without battery? >> i know. i have clock in my phone. let's go. we've got to go. we're fine. >> lola gave me my grandfather's watch when he died. lolo was the first father figure i ever had. he was a man's man, really macho.

he owned guns and had an nra sticker on his car. when he arrived in the 1980s, he embraced all things american. he became a reagan republican and even changed his name to ted, after ted danson from the tv show "cheers." he over-enunciated his words to show you that he spoke very good english. his favorite song was frank sinatra's "my way." he was the kind of person who found a yes when it was a no. ♪ i did it my way >> for me, my biggest insecurity coming to america was the way i spoke because my accent was really thick. i would go to the library and be there for like seven hours and just like get lost. it was like a museum. that's when i found "anne of green gables." i copied the way she would talk. >> fishing for lake trout.

>> lake trout. >> there was something about the fact that here she was, she arrived at like green gables and she got dropped off in the house of this older guy and the older woman that kind of felt like my lolo and my lola and she was an orphan. ♪ as a kid, i would be listening to like salt n pepa and then i started picking up sondheim cds. i wanted to just eat america as fast and as much as i could. i wrote letters to mama telling her about my new life. i wanted to make her proud. i wanted to make her happy. i couldn't wait for her to join me in america. i didn't understand what was taking her so long. in the eighth grade, i won a spelling bee. the winning word was indefatigable. i remember calling mama and

saying i won the spelling bee. she didn't really know what that was. i think at that point, i realized we were living in two different worlds. my best memory of middle school was learning the national anthem for the first time. i thought it said "oh, jose can you see." can you imagine? i'm like standing there going like this, like oh, my god, i just got here and my name is in the national anthem.ç and it was a few years after that when i was 16 that i found out that this flag that i had been pledging allegiance to actually didn't belong to me. i went to the dmv like any 16-year-old. i didn't tell my grandparents, i just went. i showed the woman my green card

and my school i.d. she flipped the green card around twice and she looks at me and she says, this is fake, don't come back here again. my grandfather was actually in the garage cutting coupons and i remember dropping my bike and going to him and saying -- i just put the card in front of him and the first thing he said is what are you doing showing that to people, first thing. the second thing, you're not supposed to be here. [ speaking a foreign language ]

>> i was 16 at this point. while other kids were dreaming about their future, i had no idea what the future held for me. i also found out mama was not coming to america. at that moment, i realized i was all alone. i couldn't tell my friends. i didn't trust my family. i felt that the people who were supposed to take care of me didn't take care of me. i was so angry with my family that i didn't want to be around them. school became my second home. you know, there are so many kids at the high school, 1800 at one point, and jose was just one of those ones that kind of -- it didn't matter where you panned your vision, he managed to be in it somehow. and it was in the choir, in the plays, he was just around all the time. he was oftentimes there when

most kids had gone home. i was walking down one of the hallways in the campus and jose said can i talk to you for a minute? okay, i've heard a lot of things, what's the matter. and well, i don't have papers or i'm undocumented, i have forgotten exactly how he said it. for me it was like okay, we can make this work. it shouldn't stop you from doing things. we'll figure it out, because i didn't understand at the time the magnitude of what he was divulging. this is huge. [ male announcer ] whether it takes 200,000 parts,

♪ 800,000 hours of supercomputing time, 3 million lines of code, 40,000 sets of eyes, or a million sleepless nights. whether it's building the world's most advanced satellite, the space station, or the next leap in unmanned systems. at boeing, one thing never changes. our passion to make it real. ♪

a new illegal immigration law said to be the toughest in the nation is on the books in alabama. >> the law would allow officials to check the immigration status of students in public schools and give the police new powers to determine whether someone is in the country illegally. >> it goes beyond the legal issue. in part what happens next to the 4% latinos in alabama and to the rest of alabama's immigrants depends on whether or not this starts being treated in alabama as not just a demographics issue but as a civil rights issue. >> tell me a little about how this impacted you personally. like do you know people who are undocumented? >> i do. i do know some people who are undocumented, and i know people who are documented, and it created a level of fear for them, where thomas jefferson said you should never fear your

government, the government should fear you, where this produces -- >> [ inaudible ]. >> yeah. >> this sounds like garbage. >> so you agree with it -- >> yes, i do. get the [ muted ] out of here. that's what i agree with. bye-bye. get your papers or get out. got your papers? >> what if i told you i didn't? >> then you need to get your -- home then. that's what i say. that would be my response. >> go home. >> no, we're not going nowhere. shut up. shut your face. >> don't embarrass me. >> you took the steps necessary to go to the united states -- >> there's no steps. >> there is a couple steps.

>> what? there's no steps, man. my mom wanted to give me i guess a better life. i was 12. she sent me to live with her parents in california. >> right. you lived with them? >> yeah, i lived with them. then i found out i was illegal and then i'm like i better speak english well or else they'll think i'm illegal. i will work my ass off. worked at the washington -- >> so, so -- >> i have been paying my taxes since i was 18. >> good, good, that's great. the thing is, though, you came over and you became a productive member of society. all right? that's what you did, right? >> everybody wants to be, right? >> everybody does. everybody does. when you've got hordes of people coming over here, they're staying ten deep in an apartment and they're -- i'm a contractor. i'm a blue collar guy. i build houses.

know what i'm saying? when you got somebody will put a roof on a house for $10, you got another one going to do it for $20 or $30. >> i own 32 acres here. are you born and raised here in alabama? >> yes, i was born here and raised in alabama. i don't farm on the scale that i did at one time, for the simple reason that i'm getting older. paco is the nickname of my latino worker. it's a friendship and he works with me also. i would rather say he works with me than for me. if i go to paco's house, his three children come hug me like my grandkids come hug me. that's one of his little -- his little son. >> oh, wow. >> the youngest one wu. i have accidentally erased the others.

but latinos are scared. if they are here illegally, they're scared. if they're here legally, they've got family members that they're scared for. but the idea that if i've got paco in a vehicle with me, then i'm liable also and i can be arrested, well that's telling me who my friends -- the state of alabama are telling me who my friends can be. i'm a conservative and i'm a hardcore republican but i don't agree with them on this. i think you've got an immigration problem but this is no way of solving it. >> after i found out i was undocumented, life got more complicated. during my u.s. history class, when i was a junior, we watched this documentary called "the times of harvey milk." ♪ >> you're white, non-gay, very wealthy establishment has to deal with me. >> i also knew that i was gay

and i couldn't be in the closet about two things at once, and i had to get out of one of them. and this was easier, so i raised my hand and mr. farrell called on me and i was like blubbering for a minute, and then blah blah blah blah, i'm gay. then i ran out. the bell rang and then my ex-girlfriend, patricia, found out that it happened. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> coming out to lolo and to lola was almost like asserting myself and saying that this is who i am. i had no control over that part,

but i have control over this part. >> i believe it was the end of his sophomore year, pat hyland contacted me and said you know, i got this young guy i think really could use -- could use a mentor. i knew very little about jose in the first year that i mentored him. he knew everything about me. he would simply interview people and you felt like almost every time you were meeting with him, he was interviewing you. there was no question that jose became part of our family. >> he was sort of my adopted son. >> i feel like a mother figure toward him. >> he calls me his jewish mom and i give him advice freely. >> i'm not his mom but i'm one of his many moms. >> bought him a computer, bought him his first suit, how to tie a tie. >> family dinners and christmases. during high school.

made me curious about how did this happen. i just knew his mother had sent him here. in spite of the fact he hadn't been in the country for more than about four years at that time, he had developed a passionate interest in journalism. and so he was writing for the school newspaper. >> when i was in my english class, my teacher said i was asking too many annoying questions and i should do this thing called journalism. so she sent me to a journalism camp. i found out that when you write something, you have this thing called a byline which means that your name's on it, by jose antonio vargas. i remember showing this to my lola, she's like what are you doing? you're supposed to be hiding. we refer to undocumented people as hiding and hiding. you're not supposed to be in the front of a newspaper. but to me, this was my salvation.

i thought i could write my way into america. that was my plan. the first time i actually lied on a form, i was in a conference room by myself, i think it was the third floor of the "chronicle" and it was very clear on the form that it asked you, are you legally able to work in the united states. and i was thinking so what happens when you check the box. it says that it's perjury, that you couldn't lie, so i actually remember having a conversation with myself like why don't i just earn what being a citizen is without asking anybody, i never asked pat, rich or anybody. i just checked the boxes. it wasn't my grandfather who lied at this point, it was me who was lying. i was continuing it. i was able to get jobs and i was able to lie my way into getting jobs because of two pieces of

documents. this was the first one, my grandfather bought it for me. this is the photocopied social security card that i gave the "mountain view voice", the "san francisco chronicle", the "philadelphia daily news", "the washington post", "the new yorker", the huffington post, i think the pulitzer committee and also the white house. >> i first met jose when he was a summer intern. he clearly was gifted and at the same time, he was neurotic about whether he really was pleasing people and initially i attributed it just to the kind of worries that a lot of young people have as young journalists, but over time, it became clear to me that this was

more than just your average insecurity. jose said that he really needed to talk and we walked for a few blocks to a park near the "post" and he started to unfold his story. i was speechless at first. i couldn't believe that he actually had managed to have had a number of jobs at other news organizations and had managed to pull it off as long and in as many locations as he had. i had to make a decision right on the spot. what do i do with information? i pretty quickly made the decision that his future was more important than the risk s that i was going to take by remaining silent. >> i thought he was going to the h.r. department and say you have to get out of here. instead he said, don't tell anybody else. we're in this together.

nobody ever stomped their foot and asked for less. because what we all really want... ...is more. there's a reason it's called an "all you can eat" buffet. and not a "have just a little buffet". that's the idea behind the more everything plan. it's more of everything you want. for less. plus, get the droid maxx by motorola for 0 down. get more with our best plans on the best network. for best results use verizon.

the last four hours have seen... one child fail to get to the air sickness bag in time. another left his shoes on the plane... his shoes! and a third simply doesn't want to be here. ♪ until now... until right booking now. ♪ planet earth's number one accomodation site booking.com booking.yeah! so i get invited to quite a few family gatherings. heck, i saved judith here a fortune with discounts like safe driver, multi-car, paperless. you make a mighty fine missus, m'lady. i'm not saying mark's thrifty. let's just say, i saved him $519, and it certainly didn't go toward that ring. am i right? [ laughs ] [ dance music playing ]

so visit progressive.com today. i call this one "the robox."

there's nothing wrong with america that needs transforming. i want to restore america. i want to turn around america. [ applause ] >> yes, sir? >> i believe there are immigrants here illegally that are honest, trying to work, doing right things. there are those people out there. do you have a plan that could assist or help them in their need rather than just rounding everybody up and taking them carte blanche, which i think is just as wrong as amnesty? >> yeah. my view is people who have are come here illegally should not be treated with favoritism in becoming permanent residents or citizens of the united states relative to those who have waited in line patiently in their home countries. that's the principle. [ applause ] >> that's the principle. for those that have are come illegally, go back home and get in line with everybody else. if they apply to be a citizen or

get a green card -- >> i'm sorry. >> they start at the back of the line not the front. that's the view we have to take. thank you. >> i'm jose. nice to meet you. >> do you have a brother? >> no, i don't. >> are you in line? >> no. but, sir, there is no line. i was brought here when i was 12. i didn't know i didn't have papers until i was 16. my grand are -- parents who with are american citizens didn't tell me. i have been here. i have been paying taxes since i was 18. i want to get legal, to get in the back of a line somewhere. >> romney made a point. >> yeah. >> we want the highly intelligent immigrants here. >> here. p if you are uh here and undocumented, then there is no way for you to get in the process if you're here and undocumented. >> go to mexico. >> i'm filipino. >> well then. >> why don't you become legal? >> there is no way, sir? >> why? >> i won a pulitzer prize at the

washington post. there is no way someone like me to get legal. this has been my home. >> we have a daughter-in-law who came from britain as a science researcher. >> as a researcher, yeah. >> and -- >> has she got papers now? >> she does now. she's been here ten years. >> yeah. >> she was about to be exported. >> why? >> because she didn't have a green card. >> yeah. >> i would think with the credentials -- >> no, ma'am. believe me. i wouldn't be here if -- >> let me tell you. our daughter-in-law is credentialed. >> yeah. >> that's what did it. that's what did it. >> we got senator grassley involved. >> i tried it. >> have you contacted grassley? >> i came out as undocumented six months ago. >> go to the senator's office. >> i went to senator durbin. this is not something that can just happen. >> i know. but we have been through it. >> i have been undocumented since i was 12. there are thousands of stories like mine.

again, we're here. we want to be tax-paying citizens. we are tax-paying people. what do they do with us? this is what i want to talk about. >> so you haven't talked to grassley yet. >> i'm not protesting, no. so i'm going to stay. i'm not causing a ruckus. i'm asking a question. >> this is a man who owns the business. he's asked you to leave. let's walk toward the door. >> oh, okay. >> please. thank you. >> all right. >> i'll talk as we walk. >> you're a police officer? >> i am. >> i'm jose vargas. nice to meet you. >> there's the door right over here. >> where is it? >> over this way. >> that was a good question. >> thank you. >> you're welcome. >> what happens when i throw you out? >> you're throwing me out. it's a private business, you said. >> that's right. >> are you arresting me? >> oh, no, no. i'm just asking you to leave the property. >> you're not arresting me? >> no, no.

>> so what happens when somebody in iowa, if you discover as a cop that somebody is an undocumented person, an undocumented immigrant, do you do anything? we identify the people, contact i.n.s. or homeland security. >> i see. >> are you going to do that? >> no, sir. >> i'm going to ask you to get in your car and leave the property. i appreciate your cooperation and peacefulness. >> thank you, sir. >> i'm just carrying out the >> i have become kind of a walking uncomfortable conversation. i get asked questions like, why don't you just make yourself legal? and i think it's really important that we actually go through an application process to become a citizen so that you

understand where the problem lies. right? so here is a worksheet from the website of the u.s. citizenship and immigration services. right? it asks questions like, number one, i am at least 18 years old. yes. number two. immigration code. who gets to come to america depends on your family members

already here, your education and skills, and definitely your wealth. take my mother. there are two ways she could possibly come here. mama could become a legal resident. my grandmother applied for her. but the waiting list for family members coming from countries like mexico and the philippines is decades long. so mama waits. mama could visit me. she applied for a tourist visa. but since she doesn't have money or even a job, she couldn't prove that she wouldn't just stay in america when she got here. so she was denied. my whole life, my mother and i have been separated by a process i cannot make sense of. as i travel around the country, immigration officials were not contacting me. in 2011, the year i came out as undocumented, the united states government deported more than 400,000 immigrants.

mothers and fathers, sons and daughters. while congress, especially republicans, called for increased border security. all told, president obama has deported about 2 million immigrants. more than any president. >> we have very special guests with us today. he's also a dreamer. we know what it's like to be afraid. to be separated from family.

and who understands our thedrea because he is one of us. >> when you said undocumented and afraid i said, i'm scared. i don't know why you're so unafraid. i'm on facebook, i'm on youtube, i'm on twitter, following the arab spring. and i realize there's like a dream spring happening like right in front of me. and i'm a part of it. and so my apologies is for coming in to late. and in some ways i'm trying to make up for that. to make sure that you understand that we are definitely in this together. and as you all know we have so much more work to do. so i spent two months writing like a really long-ass story on why i haven't gotten deported. the photo editor said, all right, we're going to put a photo on you on the cover of "time." i said to the photo editor, hey, can we have 30 more people on the cover? he was like, where are you going to find them?

[ laughter ] guess who my first phone call was? was gabby pacheco. gabby, we need to get 30 people in new york city in less than five days. ♪ >> my name's cecil similar guess. >> i'm an undocumented immigrant from colombia. >> from germany. >> mexico. >> peru. >> brazil. ♪

>> is there something happening tomorrow morning that i need to know about? is the white house announcing something tomorrow morning? >> we don't know. >> gabby and i, you know -- she made it sound like the white house tomorrow is going to announce some sort of categorical action. ♪

♪ ♪ [ girl ] my mom, she makes underwater fans that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪

well, we have heard that there might be something, and then that was it. and then nothing. >> you know, i have fabiana and gabby and random dreamers from california texting me telling me something is happening tomorrow morning. >> that's what we hear. >> what do you mean that's what you're hearing? what does that mean, frank? >> well, the good news is that at 9:30 tomorrow it will be announced that dreamers, as defined by the 2010 bill that passed the house of representatives, will be able to apply for deferred action, which is protection against deportation and work permits.

probably more than a million people will get status. the bad news is that the people who are going to be eligible have to be 29 and under. yeah. >> wow. >> yeah. are you okay? >> yeah. i'm okay. i'm good. i'm okay. so what's next for you? i'm so happy for you. she doesn't know the age limit. she doesn't know i don't qualify. >> this morning secretary

napolitano announced new actions my administration will take to mend our nation's immigration policy, to make it more fair, more efficient, and more just, specifically for certain young people sometimes called dreamers. it makes no sense to expel talented young people who, for all intents and purposes, are americans. they have been raised as americans, understand themselves to be part of this country. well, today we're improving it again. effective immediately, the department of homeland security is taking steps to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people. over the next few months eligible individuals who do not present a risk to national security or public safety will be able to request temporary relief from deportation proceedings and apply for work authorization.

>> but you have to be under 30. >> yes. >> and you're 31. >> yes. i actually -- today, i have to say, today is probably the day that i feel old. okay, listen up! i'm re-workin' the menu. mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™.

tap it here, digital insurance id card. and tap it here, boom, roadside assistance. on'tday ooklay, it's axwellmay. the igpay? otallytay. take an icturepay! onephay, onephay! really, pig latin? [ male announcer ] geico. anywhere, anytime. just an aptay away on the geico appay.

[ male announcer ] geico. anywhere, anytime. i live in a luxury penthouse overlooking central park. when the guests arrive, they're greeted by my butler, larry. my helipad is being re-surfaced so tonight we travel by more humble means. at my country club, we play parlor games with members of the royal family. yes i am rich. that's why i drink the champagne of beers. hi, credit report site andour i have a problem. i need to speak with your fraud resolution department. ugh, we don't have that. what should i tell him? just make that super annoying modem noise... (shuuuuuuuh....zzzzzzzz...de ee...dong...shuuuhh...) hello? not all credit report sites are equal. classic. experian.com members get personalized help plus fraud resolution support. join now at experian.com. with enrollment in

experian credit tracker. ♪ [ speaking in a foreign language ]

i don't know how to explain not seeing my mother for 20

years. i don't know how to do that. all i know is i have been running away from her. a few years ago she asked to be listed as my mom on facebook. i didn't want to do it. i didn't want people to know that i have a mother because do you miss her? why don't you go see her? i can't go back to the philippines. there's no guarantee i will be allowed to return to america. and mama cannot come to america. like many immigrants, i send money to my family. so i send her an allowance and that's it. our relationship is purely transactional. when she calls, i don't pick up the phone. to me, this is a homecoming. so it's really, really good to

be here at home. to be in the place where where i grew up. you know, less than a mile from here on farley street. when people ask me, how are you surviving now? a large part of that is because of the very people in this room. i'm going to ask them to stand up. here it goes. pat. my high school principal drove me around, introduced me to starbucks. she bought me my first laptop. and she was one of the first people that found out that i was undocumented. rich and sherry. so rich was my superintendent. and they have been surrogate parents all these years. rich has been like the dad i never really had. mary and her daughter daisy. we graduated in the same class at mountain view. the first time she met me she said, okay, let's get married and get you papers. susan and judy. they are the people who tried to

figure out, wait up, how do we send jose to college? because of them we found this guy who wanted to give all this money to the school. because he said he wanted to start a scholarship fund. i didn't get to meet him until i was already a freshman at san francisco state. he paid for the tuition, he paid for the apartment, he paid for the books, and he paid for the transportation. and i had never met him. him name is jim strand. like pat, susan, daisy, mary, judy, sherry, rich, jim, all of them and many more, they didn't need a passport or a green card or anything to treat me as a human being, consider me an american. two years ago i threw myself a happy 30th "you might get deported" party. 30 people came. all of them came. my family came. they actually met each other for the first time. i kept them separate. i don't know why i did that, but i did that. >> hi!

>> hello, everyone. >> okay, people! there's food out here! >> just grab a plate. >> but at the very beginning i actually said, i wish my mom were here. i don't like talking about my mother. my uncle and my lola, my family knows this. i remember for a while i had a shoebox where i hid her letters and i never opened them. it was too hard. i haven't seen my mom since i was 12. i've adopted a lot of motors. i've been really happy -- i've been really lucky with that. everywhere i turn i have a mother. that's wonderful. but i have to -- i have to face my own mom. ♪

with premium service like one of the best on-time delivery records and a low claims ratio, we do whatever it takes to make your business our business. od. helping the world keep promises. [ radio chatter ] ♪ [ male announcer ] andrew. rita. sandy. ♪ meet chris jackie joe. minor damage, or major disaster, when you need us most, we're there. state farm. we're a force of nature, too.

♪ that, my friends, is everything. and with the quicksilver card from capital one, you earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you purchase. not just "everything at the hardware store." not "everything, until you hit your cash back limit." quicksilver can earn you unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you could possibly imagine. say it with me -- everything. one more time, everything! and with that in mind... what's in your wallet?

♪

>> one year older, one and a half. 1990 or 1991?

>> how are you, ma? you still look the same. pretty and very young. however, please try your best to quit smoking. i know i'm still only your son and i should mind my own business. but i want to see your healthy. and smoking in the long run is not going to put you in top condition. same goes for nina and tita josie. ♪

♪ ♪

the last four hours have seen... one child fail to get to the air sickness bag in time. another left his shoes on the plane... his shoes! and a third simply doesn't want to be here. ♪ until now... until right booking now. ♪ planet earth's number one accomodation site booking.com booking.yeah!

could help your business didavoid hours of delaynd test caused by slow internet from the phone company? that's enough time to record a memo. idea for sales giveaway. return a call. sign a contract. pick a tie. take a break with mr. duck. practice up for the business trip. fly to florida. win an award. close a deal. hire an intern. and still have time to spare. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business. built for business.

i am about to skype with my mother for the first time. i've actually never done that before. and it's kind of time to do that. so actually, let me show you a picture of -- i only have one

picture of my parents and i. that's my dad. that's my mom. my father died in 2007. i think i saw him maybe five, seven times maybe in my life. but this is the only picture that i have of the three of us together. my mom was really pretty. [ ringing ]

>> answer. >> oh, there it is. i can't see anything. >> ma, is that you? ma? >> yeah. oh! >> ma.

>> i'm really, really sorry. >> that's okay. >> yeah. i know.

♪

♪ ♪ try as i may lime alone i'm alone in my arms ♪ ♪ and just as you came you are gone with the wind that blows warm ♪

nobody ever stomped their foot and asked for less. because what we all really want... ...is more. there's a reason it's called an "all you can eat" buffet. and not a "have just a little buffet". that's the idea behind the more everything plan. it's more of everything you want. for less. plus, get the droid maxx by motorola for 0 down. get more with our best plans on the best network. for best results use verizon.

then you'll know how uncomfortable it can be. [ crickets chirping ] but did you know that the lack of saliva can also lead to tooth decay and bad breath? [ exhales deeply ] [ male announcer ] well there is biotene. specially formulated with moisturizers and lubricants, biotene can provide soothing relief and it helps keep your mouth healthy, too. [ applause ] biotene -- for people who suffer from dry mouth.

♪ 800,000 hours of supercomputing time, 3 million lines of code, 40,000 sets of eyes, or a million sleepless nights. whether it's building the world's most advanced satellite, the space station, or the next leap in unmanned systems. at boeing, one thing never changes. our passion to make it real. ♪

bipartisan optimism about one of the most polarizing issues, immigration reform. >> the senate bill would create a pathway the to citizenship for some 11 million people currently in the country illegally. >> the deal has to be turned into legislation.

that is happening as we speak. >> the senate judiciary committee will hear from a variety of groups with a stake in the debate. >> this potentially could be historic. >> oh, yeah. i got to practice this. >> five minutes? do you have five minutes to say -- >> i have five minutes. they're not going to cut me off. >> yeah. they are not. after one sentence and it's like you are thinking the others and the next one. it's like you're really reading it. not like somebody wrote it for you and you're just reading it. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> you know how it is. >> i'm freaking out about my time. okay. an unjust law is no law at all. [ speaking foreign language ] >> really. i deserve it. i want it. it's supposed to be this way. you have to make it, you know. that's what you want. >> i'm getting nervous and i'm just sitting here next to you.

>> what time are we supposed to have this? be up there? >> meeting in the lobby at 8:00. >> at 8:00? >> yeah. >> define "american." how would you define really as -- defined not by vocabulary meaning, but what i mean is, who is really the americans? you know, i would say supposed to be the people that are willing, who came here and willing to contribute and do good for this country, not because they were just born here in this place. that's how i define american. it's a country of freedom. it's democracy. after all, history-wise, everybody here is an immigrant actually.

♪ >> under the president's proposal we would provide a rigorous pathway to earned citizenship for those already here. >> the question becomes where we draw the line. >> the border is more secure now than ever. >> the border is nowhere near secure. >> large flows of labor will pull down wages. >> our children and grandchildren may not be able to get a job. >> mothers and fathers are removed from households full of citizen children and result in splitting up families. >> we've been talking about immigration reform for a long time. and i still believe we have a long, long way to go. >> i would ask the panel to

please stand to be sworn in. do you swear that the testimony you are about to give before the committee be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you god? >> yes. >> thank you. all sworn in. mr. vargas, please go ahead. >> i come to you as one of our country's 11 million undocumented immigrants. many of us, americans at heart, but without the right papers to show for it.

as this congress decides on fair, humane reform and before we take your questions here, i have a few of my own. what do you want to do with me? for all the undocumented immigrants who are actually sitting here at this hearing, for the people watching online and for the 11 million of us, what do you want to do with us? to me, the most important question as a student of american history is this -- how do you define american? how do you define it? thank you so much for having me here today. >> thank you very much, mr. vargas.

when you run a business, you can't settle for slow.

that's why i always choose the fastest intern. the fastest printer. the fastest lunch. turkey club. the fastest pencil sharpener. the fastest elevator. the fastest speed dial. the fastest office plant. so why wouldn't i choose the fastest wifi? i would. switch to comcast business internet and get the fastest wifi included. comcast business. built for business.

i had this, like, fantasy in my head, you know, that i would get a green card and i'd get a passport and i fly and that she would be there waiting for me, just by herself.

>> i'm 32. i left when i was 12. sometimes i think maybe i'm putting too much on her. she can't, like, solve all the stuff in my head. but i feel like she can help me start to process.

>> you know, i have been meaning just to tell her, like you know, in person. just face to face. you know, just say thank you. telling her that i love her. ♪

>> the skies over baghdad have been illuminated. >> we should be on the air at 6:00 as predicted. >> choose to go. go where no one has gone before. >> the skies over baghdad have been illuminated. >> where no one else will go today. you can go in search of answers. only to find more questions. you might discover something unfamiliar, halfway around the world. or uncover something unexpected far closer to home. sometimes you might need to look back to see how you got here. and where you might be headed.

and just when you think your journey has reached an end, you will be surprised to find it's only just beginning. but you'll keep going. because it's your journey. wherever it goes. mexico is a country where every day people fight to live. all too often, they lose that battle. a magnificent, heartbreakingly beautiful country, the music and food, and a uniquely mexican, darkly funny, deeply felt world view.