Definitely worth a read. Vargas, the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, who is openly gay, made a splash this summer when he came out as undocumented. Sean Bugg interviewed him.
An excerpt:
MW: When it comes to immigration and undocumented people living in the U.S., I think the gay community tends to view those issues only through the prism of marriage. Would you agree?
VARGAS: Right now it is the most tangible way that they understand this very abstract topic. It's a simplistic prism that doesn't encompass the complexity of the issue. People have told me, ''Now that New York is allowing same-sex marriage, why don't you just get a boyfriend and just get married?'' God, that sounds so easy! Why don't I just go do that?
When I came out [as undocumented] to one of my friends — a D.C. journalist, a straight guy — he was like, ''Why don't we go to Iowa and get married?'' He's straight, but he's like why not, right? I'm like, that's really sweet, but immigration is under federal law, not state, and even though Iowa allows same-sex marriage, DOMA doesn't recognize that. One of my other friends said if I really want to challenge the government, why don't I marry a guy and then sue the government for not treating me equally? I'm like, ''I'm in enough trouble as it is!'' [Laughs.]
