In the passage “Outlaw: My Life in America as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas, it states the power and connotations of the words “undocumented immigrants” and “illegal aliens”. These words are wrong to call an immigrant. It may make the immigrant feel unwelcomed or that they do not belong here. These words are offensive because it can assume that an immigrant does not have the legitimate authentication to be in the country, they want to be in.

In the passage,” Outlaw: My Life in America as an Undocumented Immigrant,” Jose is from the Philippines and migrated to the United States when he was middle school. He shares his story of how he found out he was undocumented until he was in high school. He expresses his life limitations and the missed opportunities he would not achieve because of his illegal documentation. He has to hide this fact from people which caused him to have anxiety and paranoia. He worked hard to earn his citizenship to stay in America to get his better chances.

In Jose’s situation, he should be referred to as an undocumented immigrant. The reason for this is because he is still a person with feelings and rights. Also, because he should not be called anything else that makes him sound like a criminal.