CNN: “Journalist Jose Vargas, symbol of immigration debate, detained at airport”

Jose Vargas, an award-winning journalist and prominent activist for undocumented immigrants, was detained this morning by US Customs and Border Protection at McAllen-Miller International Airport. Mr. Vargas was in McAllan, Texas (near the US/Mexican border) to report on the plight of undocumented immigrants (in particular, the surge of Central American children crossing the border, which we previously discussed) and he wrote he only become aware after traveling to the area that “for an undocumented immigrant like me, getting out of a border town in Texas—by plane or by land—won’t be easy. It might, in fact, be impossible.” His only documentation, he tweeted earlier this morning, was his Philippine passport and pocketbook US Constitution.

UPDATE: Mr. Vargas was released Tuesday evening with a notice to appear before an immigration judge. Department of Homeland Security officials said in a statement "they had released Mr. Vargas because he had no prior immigration or criminal record" and "their focus was on deporting immigrants who posed security threats."