Jose Antonio Vargas speaking about immigration

It is that time of year again!  The Summer Institute has kicked off  again with high school and community college students from around the Bay Area converging at the World Affairs Council.

At the first meeting, students delved into the complexities of immigration policy. They examined the vastly different laws in the US and various countries around the world, including Japan, Canada and France.

After discussing the situation in the US, the students watched “Documented,”  a documentary by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Jose Antonio Vargas.  “Documented” illustrates Vargas’ victories and struggles living as an undocumented immigrant in the US and his quest to clarify US immigration policy and attain citizenship.

Watching this insightful film opened the door for a fuller conversation on defining who exactly is an American. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines American as: a person born, raised, or living in the US. After viewing the film, one student astutely commented on the difficulty in defining just what it means to be an American and that it might not necessarily mean the person is also a citizen of the US.

From the discussion, students came to believe that being an American can mean many things:
• Someone who “contributes to the economic growth of the country and believes in the democracy of the government.”
• Someone who “wants to make this country a better place.”
• Asking “not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”
• Someone “chasing the American dream.”

How do you define American? Please add to our discussion by contributing your definition in the comments!

Teachers, if you would like to teach this module about Jose Antonio Vargas and immigration, we welcome you to use our lesson plan on immigration and this video of Mr. Vargas speaking at WorldAffairs 2014.

By Netta Ascoli, Education Program Officer and Samir Belkacem, Education Program Intern