Why? Because he's been living in America since the age of 12 as an undocumented immigrant.

But over the past seven years, hiding his illegal status has been increasingly difficult for the Philippines-born journalist who has been acclaimed for his coverage of HIV and the Virginia Tech shootings which culminated in a Pulitzer Prize in 2008.

Vargas' success also earned him a Wikipedia page and his fear of being found and deported heightened.

Finally, in June, Vargas decided reveal the truth about his immigration status in New York Times Magazine, using his confession to promote dialogue about what he describes as America's broken immigration system.

He has started the advocacy group Define American which has attracted more than 95,000 signatures on a petition that calls for a new conversation on an issue that affects millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States.