Jose Vargas asks government for protection against deportation

JOSE ANTONIO VARGAS, who we last saw at the Texas border with Mexico (See earlier blog below) has kept himself busy. 

Days after speaking at the Asian American Journalists Association's annual convention held in Washington D.C., Vargas and 10 other undocumented immigrants held a press conference to put themselves on the line and to push the Obama administration to act on immigration reform and the status of the 11 million undocumented immigrants already in the U.S. In doing so, he puts himself at risk of immediate deportation.

The ball is now in the court of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson at which time deportation would be delayed or immediate. The decision could come any day.

The Pulitzer-prize winning journalist came out of the shadows in 2011 to become one of the leading spokesman for undocumented immigrants and immigration reform.

Here's the CNN report of August 21:

(CNN) -- Filmmaker and activist Jose Antonio Vargas and 10 others asked the U.S. government on Wednesday to halt deportation proceedings against undocumented immigrants like themselves who have strong and productive ties to the United States.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, they requested that he defer such punitive action and then ask President Barack Obama to consider "administrative relief" to those "who are integral members of our evolving American community."

Vargas and the others said in their letter that they represent just a few of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.

"Often, we're treated as abstractions, nameless and faceless, subjects of debate rather than individuals with families, hopes, fears, and dreams," they wrote.

Undocumented leader: 'We're tired'

Undocumented activist of CNN film detained

"Over the past decades, we have been working, worshiping in churches, going to school, and contributing to the communities we call home. We love, fight for, and pledge allegiance to an America whose flag does not recognize us," they added.

In a statement, Johnson's office did not mention the letter, but said he has "been taking a hard look" at "tough issues" around shortcomings in immigration policy and working to submit recommendations to Obama within "the confines of existing law."

Customs and Border Patrol agents detained Vargas, also an award-winning journalist, last month in McAllen, Texas, after learning of his immigration status.

Immigration question: How far can the President go on executive actions?

He was there to call attention to the plight of tens of thousands of migrant youth from Central America, many of them unaccompanied, who have streamed across the southern border this year.

The surge has strained border services and reignited the debate over immigration reform in Washington, a cause that Vargas promotes.

A decision by Johnson to grant the request would delay any deportation proceedings with the hope that Obama would then use his executive authority to expand deportation protections or that Congress would agree to an overhaul of immigration law.

Obama used his executive authority in 2012 to grant work authorization for two years or more for those who came to the United States as children. Vargas missed the age eligibility by only months.

With Congress divided, Obama to go his own way on immigration