OPINION: Jose Antonio Vargas is NOT one of us. - Page 6

Let me preface my post by stating that the fact that someone does or will qualify for the DREAM act and has a college degree, work experience, and is Americanized does not put him/her above the law nor is he/she above questioning. Not Jose Vargas, not any other who publishes his or her story. To think that's the case because you are "accomplished" smacks of nothing more than arrogance.

I cannot believe the level of immaturity that some of you are willing to display behind the safety of the screen and with the full freedom of anonimity. What part of the word "opinion" in this thread do you not understand?

Mr. Vargas clearly confessed in the interest of full disclosure for his self-preservation. He has far more to gain by his public confession than by withholding the facts of his life. He did it on his terms in order to preserve his dignity and I think because his original employer, the Washington Post, refused to back him up on his public confession and publish his story. Is his integrity in question? You bet. Like many other things related to law enforcement, it is not the crime, but the cover up that does people in. I believe him to be a good person and hope a good and fair resolution to his case.

And to the ones who are smearing others' parents or even their own to absolve their "illegal" presence in this country or to counteract an argument, please STOP. Have some respect for their sacrifice and honor the fact that you are a DREAM act beneficiary due to the choices that they made for you in bringing you here. No, your parents aren't assholes, your mother isn't a c***, bitch, or any other choice noun of the day (every time I read one of the guys here call their mother that, I cringe. No self-respecting woman would want to have anything to do with guy like that).

No, you arent' a better immigrant because you have a degree. No, you aren't more worthy because you overstayed a visa. No, you aren't better because you are under 30 or under 25. Yes, you do have a choice between obtaining a license fraudulently and taking the bus. Yes, you do have a choice between working under the table or working a false SS number so you can meet your taxpayer obligations. Yes, you do have a choice between paying out-of-state tuition or lying about your status to gain access to higher education. Yes, you do have a choice between marrying for paperwork...or struggling for a decade waiting for the DREAM Act to pass. If it were that easy to live with, there wouldn't be as many of us in this situation as it is. I once consulted an immigration lawyer - a woman none the less- who kind of mockingly said I was very pretty and should have found someone to marry by now. I do have someone I want to marry - he is just foreign like me. Said lawyer made my blood boil, but whatever.

It all comes down to what you value and what will allow you to sleep at night.

If you are here without permission you are an illegal immigrant; it is what it is. h3wlett, if your values and morals discourage you from pursuing fraudulent activity, you do not owe anyone an explanation nor apology for them. Much less someone from this forum who has no relation nor meaning to your life.

You need to STOP. Clearly, you have very poor inferential skills. Contrarily, I am proud of my parents, and I fully support their decision to stay here. I believe their circumstances more than justify their actions. However, I will not flamboyantly brag about their law abiding nature, because I know they have broken the immigration law.

Nevertheless, my opinion of H3wlett has not changed even though I strongly disagree with his opinion. I still consider him a fellow dreamer as good as any other. I still respect as much as I did before this threat, because I know that we are entitle to our opinions and beliefs.

This thread is about whether Jose Vargas is in reality a "Dreamer" based on his adult conduct according to the OP author's opinion and whether others are in agreement or to the contrary. Parents, yours, mine or someone else's have no business in this discussion.

I have read posts by plenty of, I'm assuming, male users call their parents - and especially their mother- all sorts of names in frustration, but I don't believe that I've read in any of your posts you call your mother the expletives I listed above, so what's the problem? And who threatened you?

Good luck to anyone who can find a decent, let alone a good, argument that justifies dishonoring your parents for being illegal immigrants. You won't find one.

crime based on technicality =\= crime based on moral failure that hurts people

I actually know him, personally. He let me stay with him on my trip to New York. I believe that there is no separation between "us" and "them." There are many identities and roles in the Dream Act movement.

he's just managing a way to survive in a system that is drowning us.

Vargas was a Dreamer, but the way he chose to live his life has totally disqualified. False claims of citizenship automatically disqualify anyone from gaining a legal status (unless there is no proof).

We are all here illegal so yes we are breaking the law, but we stay because it is the only country we know and love. I chose to live life on the straight and narrow path, I'm not going to commit fraud to get ahead in life. My parents got me false documents to obtain work a few years back, I refused to use them. I am working a great job, one that is not a dead end job, and I did not lie about my status. I was honest and I was able to find a group of people who are willing to help me.

A Dreamer is someone who is here illegally because of their parents choices, but we are suppose to prove that we are good people who deserve a chance because we abide by the law. Vargas is just going to make those who oppose the Dream Act Oppose it even more, all they are going to see is an illegal immigrant who committed fraud.

so how did can you get paid if you don't have a social? You say you have a job implying that you don't own your own business. So somebody there is lying to the IRS.

Is hard to ignore all the comments fill with hate and disapproval to immigrants by immigrants. No human should feel better than other human. There is no bad people just bad behaviors and behaviors can be change. Many here get on a high horse and judge people they don't know or understand. I understand why many have this behavior since I had to deal with it myself. Many of us feel that we have to show we are American enough, so we seek the acceptance of the American public in any way we can. We attack our own parents as long as we look American, we forget our cultures, music and ancestors as long as we look Americans, we forget our people other immigrants as long as we look American. The sad thing is that just as in High School the girl that tries the hard its is call a fake and is deny the entrance to the cool group we too are being deny the American status. We have to be accept who we are and understand that the only way we can gain respect is by demanding humanity. If you think I'm full of it and believe that your reality is to harsh, let me make one more argument. If we start attacking other immigrants for doing what they have to do to survive, then how can you ask the American public to understand your situation.

Mr. Vargas did what he had to do to earn a living. If you are afraid that since he use a fake SS now political groups will use that to deny the dream act don't worry they use that argument before Mr. Vargas got here. I feel proud of Mr. Vargas because he show that we immigrants can thrive in this country. Instead of judging who is American enough why do you start living a righteous life based on the only law that matters human morality. Maybe if we star acting with humanity and work hard America does not have to change us but we end up changing America.

OK, technically yes the IRS is being lied to. But my employer and a friend of mine who use to work for him offered to help me. My employer knows about my status and he agreed to let me take over my friends job, so I do the work and my friend pays the taxes and gets the check, and I get the money through my friend. So technically I am not working at all. The reason I got the job was because he (my employer) saw how motivated I am and that I am willing to work and learn. He knew from the start about my status and agreed to help.