Journalist and immigration activist Jose Antonio Vargas has announced the launch of a new, immigration-centric vertical in partnership with the Los Angeles Times, according to CNN.
Vargas, who revealed in 2011 that he entered the United States illegally from the Philippines when he was twelve, has become a major voice for immigration reforms that will allow children of immigrants in the country illegally to gain legal status, among other changes to the process. “Emerging US,” the name of the new collaboration with the Times, “will focus on the intersection of race, immigration and identity and the complexities of multiculturalism.”
The newspaper insists that the venture is “not meant to be advocacy, and it won’t be advocacy.”
CNN reports that Emerging US will be a partnership between Vargas and the Times. The newspaper’s publisher explained that it could not hire Vargas because of his status, ”but we can become a business partner with him.”