Jose Vargas,Reporter who wrote about life as illegal alien arrested in Minn.
Reporter who wrote about life as undocumented immigrant arrested in Minnesota
By Beth Hawkins | 06:14 pm
New York Times reporter Jose Vargas was arrested Friday morning by Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Police and charged with driving without a valid driver’s license, a misdemeanor.
A native of the Philippines, Vargas is best known for his June 2011 essay, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant,” in which he described the steps he is forced to take to work in the United States, where he has lived since 1993, when he was 12.
It’s unclear why Vargas was stopped. He is scheduled to appear in Hennepin County District Court Oct. 18.
His arrest here on a traffic violation is newsworthy because the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, which operates the county jail, participates in Secure Communities, a Bush administration initiative to secure local law enforcement cooperation in reporting undocumented immigrants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
In response, ICE routinely places deportation holds on undocumented individuals, whether or not the offense they are suspected of merits booking into the jail. Law enforcement participation is voluntary.
According to county records, Vargas was booked into the Hennepin County Jail at 10:49 this morning. Individuals suspected of driving without a license are typically issued a citation at the scene and not arrested or held.
In marked contrast to the way most undocumented immigrants have been handled during Sheriff Rich Stanek’s tenure, Vargas was released at 1:34 Friday afternoon.
Among the steps Vargas enumerated in his Times piece were his efforts to secure a valid driver’s license, something he eventually managed to do in Oregon.
From the essay: “My license, issued in 2003, was set to expire eight years later, on my 30th birthday, on Feb. 3, 2011. I had eight years to succeed professionally, and to hope that some sort of immigration reform would pass in the meantime and allow me to stay.
“It seemed like all the time in the world.”
Several large law enforcement agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department and Illinois’ Cook County, have refused to participate in Secure Communities, the Times reported this morning.
MinnPost learned of Vargas’ arrest after business hours Friday evening; if we are able to reach Vargas or county officials for more details we will update this story.
Reporter who wrote about life as undocumented immigrant arrested in Minnesota | MinnPost
Jose Antonio Vargas Narrowly Avoids ICE Officials
Connor Simpson
5:41 PM ET
The Atlantic Wire
Activist Jose Antonio Vargas was arrested on Friday while in Minnesota and the police reported him to immigration officials, but they declined to issue a detainer that would have seen Vargas handed over to the ICE and possibly deported.
Vargas was arrested for a traffic violation on Friday morning for driving without a valid driver's licence. Vargas was originally pulled over for driving while wearing headphones. Vargas' arrest is notable because, as MinnPost points out, the county he was arrested in regularly participates in the Bush-era immigration initiative Secure Communities:
His arrest here on a traffic violation is newsworthy because the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, which operates the county jail, participates in Secure Communities, a Bush administration initiative to secure local law enforcement cooperation in reporting undocumented immigrants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
Minnesota state police officials did report Vargas to ICE. A police spokesman explained to Politico that when the arresting officer ran Vargas' Washington driver's license it came up that it was cancelled, and was flagged for fraudulent activity:
“He did produce a Washington driver’s license” after being pulled over, Roeske said. “When the trooper ran the license, it showed the status [of the license] was canceled. It also indicated there may have been fraudulent activity associated with the license, that’s why [it might have been] canceled. That triggered the trooper to look into that further and contact ICE (U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement).”
The spokesman wouldn't elaborate further on what "fraudulent activity" was associated with Vargas' license. But ICE officials thankfully declined not to take action action against Vargas. Don't drive with your headphones in, kids.
Jose Antonio Vargas Narrowly Avoids ICE Officials - National - The Atlantic Wire
