Timelines

Migration is a natural part of living systems, and human history is no exception. Yet it remains one of the most debated public issues of our time.

Both people and borders move. Who is allowed to move, and who is granted rights, lies at the heart of how nations define belonging. In Germany and the United States alike, these debates have been deeply intertwined with evolving ideas of race and ethnicity.

These timelines trace how citizenship and belonging have been constructed, challenged, and redefined through laws, social movements, global events, and cultural works — and how those histories continue to shape the present.

2011

2012

Coming Out as Undocumented becomes Political Strategy

In June 2011, the New York Times Magazine published a personal story written by Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer prize-winning, Filipino American journalist, about his life as an undocumented individual. Vargas’ “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” was part of a larger, primarily immigrant youth-led call for undocumented people to “come out of the shadows” and organize for immigration reform. The article catapulted Vargas into the national spotlight. One year later, Time magazine published Vargas’ “Define American” as its cover story, in which Vargas chronicled his experience navigating the prior year as both a public figure and an undocumented immigrant. Vargas then launched a web-based project, also called Define American that invites individuals to share their stories and perspectives about American citizenship.

This is my home. Yet even though I think of myself as an American and considers America my country, my country doesn’t think of me as one of its own

- Jose Antonio Vargas

My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant”, New York Times Magazine.

United States

Sources

Jose Antonio Vargas. My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant. The New York Times. June 25, 2011. Date accessed: September 13, 2015.
Documented Trailer. The Pacific Arts Movement. Date accessed: September 13, 2015.

Additional Resources

Define American. Date accessed: June 16, 2015.
No Documents, No Fear: Ride for Justice. Date accessed: June 16, 2015.
Tom Andes, Peter Orner. Underground America: narratives of documented lives. San Francisco, CA: McSweeney’s Books.

Learn how these timelines were made

UNITED STATES

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