Jose Antonio Vargas

Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and Tony-nominated theatrical producer. A leading voice for the human rights of immigrants, he founded the non-profit immigrant storytelling organization Define American , twice named one of the World's Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company , and explored all facets of immigration as host of its YouTube show and podcast Define American with Jose Antonio Vargas . He is also a co-founder of 1587 Sneakers , the world's first Asian American sneaker brand. His best-selling memoir, Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen , was published by HarperCollins in 2018. An updated edition with new material for living in Trump’s America was released in 2025. In 2026, the Brooklyn Public Library named it one of the 250 most notable books in U.S. history. His next book will examine how diverse immigrant populations are upending America's foundational Black and White racial binary. He also has a third book in the works about global migration. In 2019, he co-produced Heidi Schreck's acclaimed Broadway play What the Constitution Means to Me , which was nominated for a Tony Award for "Best Play" and is streamable on Amazon Prime Video. His second Broadway production, a staging of David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's musical Here Lies Love , played at the Broadway Theatre in 2023. Accolades he has received include the Freedom to Write Award from PEN Center USA, and honorary degrees from Emerson College, Colby College, and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Passionate about promoting equity in education for all students, he serves on the advisory board of TheDream.US , a scholarship fund for undocumented immigrant students, and was a member of the Board of Trustees of the California State University , the largest four-year public university system in the United States. A product of the San Francisco Bay Area, he is a proud graduate of San Francisco State University (2004), where he was named Alumnus of the Year in 2012, and Mountain View High School (2000). An elementary school named after him opened in his hometown of Mountain View, California in August 2019.