Jose Antonio Vargas on Fresh Air. (Related: Mark Krikorian)

Our take on it is really that a modern society has no need for any immigration. We don’t actually need immigration. Our land is settled, we’re a post-industrial society, and so … from our perspective, we need to start from zero — like zero-based budgeting — and then say, ‘Are there groups of people whose admission is so compelling that we let them in despite the fact that there’s no need for this sort of thing?’

— Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies explains his view on immigration. Also on the show today, Jose Antonio Vargas on why he came out as an ‘undocumented’ immigrant. 

Two voices in the immigration debate today on Fresh Air:

1. Journalist Jose Antonio Vargas explains why he recently came out as an undocumented immigrant in The New York Times Magazine, and what the consequences of that decision have been

2. Mark Krikorian, who runs a think tank that advocates for low immigration and high enforcement of current laws, explains why he believes Jose Antonio Vargas should return to the Philippines.

Tomorrow: Immigration, the DREAM Act, Arizona, Etc.

Two guests

• Mark Krikorian (National Review columns, Center for Immigration Studies)
• Jose Antonio Vargas (Twitter, NYTimes)

I decided then that if I was to succeed in a profession that is all about truth-telling, I couldn’t tell the truth about myself.

— Tomorrow on Fresh Air: Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who revealed he is an undocumented immigrant from the Philippines in a New York Times Magazine article (via lunchm3at)

My Life As an Undocumented Immigrant - NYTimes.com

I share this story written by a former colleague of mine, Jose Antonio Vargas. We worked together on this interactive at The Washington Post/washingtonpost.com and Jose was always so enthusiastic and exuberant. He has extensively covered the AIDS/HIV epidemic in Washington, D.C., and his articles inspired a documentary, The Other City.