Vargas, who is best known for his June 2011 New York Times Magazine essay in which he “came out” as an illegal immigrant, was arrested in Hennepin County, Minnesota yesterday morning. The journalist, who was on his way to nearby Carleton College to deliver the weekly convocation, was charged with driving with an expired Washington state license and booked into county jail for about two hours before he was freed. The otherwise routine-sounding traffic stop is notable because, as MinnPost notes, the local sheriff participates in Secure Communities, a Bush-era initiative designed “to secure local law enforcement cooperation in reporting undocumented immigrants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.” The federal agency has since confirmed to Politico that it will not detain or take any actions against Vargas.
This post has been updated throughout.
