The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and undocumented immigrant Jose Antonio Vargas was detained in Texas just before flight from McAllen to Houston.
The outspoken backer of immigrants' rights was held up by a Border Patrol checkpoint and taken to the McAllen Border Patrol station in handcuffs, The New York Times reports.
He was in McAllen for a United We Dream news conference and realized that he would have to pass a checkpoint to leave the area, meaning that Vargas likely wasn't too surprised when he was detained.
The outspoken undocumented immigrant has been going around the country to promote his documentary, Documented about children illegally brought into the country by their parents.
Though he is undocumented, Vargas has been able to travel the United States largely due to having a valid Filipino passport, which is all the TSA checks when he goes to fly.
Here's a photo of @joseiswriting in handcuffs, because the Border Patrol has nothing more pressing to do apparently pic.twitter.com/dN8KewqeZr
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) July 15, 2014
According to SFGate, Vargas is a former journalist who worked for both the San Francisco Chronicle and Washington Post.
When he discovered he was brought to the United States illegally as a child, he publicly came forward about the news three years ago through a NY Times Magazine article.
image via Twitter from Ryan Grim