LibGuides: Immigrant Heritage Month: Undocumented Americans

Journalist Jose Antonio Vargas talks about growing up undocumented in America, and why immigration is the most misunderstood issue in the U.S. today.

We Are Americans: Just Not Legally
We're some of the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. Why we're done hiding. By Jose Antonio Vargas

Define American with Jose Antonio Vargas

Like millions of other undocumented Americans, I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to survive the next four years. One way I'll do that is by telling the truth about the immigrant experience — the full immigrant experience — in a country where lies, misinformation, and disinformation about “illegal aliens” played a central role in bringing Donald Trump back to the White House.

Resources

Undocumented Immigrant Oending Rate Lower Than U.S.-Born Citizen Rate
Analysis of Texas arrest records indicates a consistent trend across violent, drug,
property, and traffic offenses between 2012 and 2018.
Journalist Stylebook Reference Guide: Offensive Terms To Avoid
Offensive: “illegal immigrant,” “illegal alien,” and the shorthand i-word used as a noun,“illegals."
Use instead: “unauthorized immigrant,” “undocumented Immigrant,” or “immigrant without papers.”

Seven Facts on Immigration that Every American Should Know (2025)
100 Mile Border Zone
The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects people from random and arbitrary stops and searches. Although the federal government claims the power to conduct certain kinds of warrantless stops within 100 miles of the U.S. border, important Fourth Amendment protections still apply.

Immigrant Heritage Month

ICEBlock

Specialist Librarian

Resources