Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen

by Jose Antonio Vargas

Passing as an American was my way of exerting control over a life I had no control over. It was not my decision to come here, acquire fake papers, and lie my way into being in America. But I was here. At the very least, I felt that I had to control what kind of American I was going to be, what kind of cultural connections I was going to make, which led to what kind of mask I had to wear.

I read these words from Baldwin like they were some sort of dare: