Mountain View school to be named after undocumented immigrant Jose Antonio Vargas

Jose Antonio Vargas shares his new license with the author of the law that made it possible, Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville. Vargas, a Filipino-born journalist who moved to the Bay Area when he was 12, was thrust into the spotlight in 2011 when he revealed in a New York Times magazine cover story that he was living in the United States without legal permission. less Jose Antonio Vargas shares his new license with the author of the law that made it possible, Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville. Vargas, a Filipino-born journalist who moved to the Bay Area when he was 12, ... more Photo: Melody Gutierrez / The Chronicle Photo: Melody Gutierrez / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close Mountain View school to be named after undocumented immigrant Jose Antonio Vargas 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

In a historic decision, a new public elementary school in Mountain View will be named after an undocumented immigrant Jose Antonio Vargas, an award-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker and activist.

The Mountain View Whisman School District board voted to name the new school after Vargas at its meeting Thursday following recent immigration enforcement decisions made by the Trump administration.

In just the past few weeks, thousands of immigrant children have been separated from their families in domestic raids and at the border, and this week U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that asylum protections will no longer be offered to victims of domestic violence and gang violence.

Vargas emigrated with his family from the Philippines to the U.S. when he was 12 years old. He attended Crittenden Middle School and Mountain View High School before going on to become a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and, ultimately, an immigration activist.

Vargas also worked for The Chronicle early in his career.

“As a proud product of the Bay Area’s public school system, I am overwhelmed by this totally unexpected and deeply meaningful honor,” he said in a statement.

Vargas went on to work for the Washington Post, where he was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for the newspaper’s coverage of the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. He revealed his undocumented status in a New York Times Magazine essay in 2011.

The school named in his honor will open in August 2019, said Laura Blakely, the president of the district’s school board.

She said Vargas’ name was first floated about a year ago, and the board signed off after a series of community input sessions and meetings.

“He’s a product of our school district,” Blakely said. “He’s been the face of the American dream for so many students who came here as children, and really grew up as Americans without having citizenship. We have so many students in our community who are ‘Dreamers,’ and he’s such an inspiration.”

Dreamers is a term in reference to children who were undocumented when their parents brought them to this country.

“We are living through an ugly and hateful time in our country when immigrant families are under constant attack, even at schools,” said Patricia Hyland, who chairs Define American’s board of trustees and was Vargas’ former principal at Mountain View High School. “The district’s decision is an affirmation of American values and our belief in opening our doors of opportunities to all kinds of dreamers.”

Blakely said the decision was motivated in part by current news about immigration, but more so the achievements of Vargas.

“Immigration happens to be the flash point, as it has been for decades, but I think even if that weren’t going on, he would be an inspirational leader,” she said.

The district also considered naming the school after Steve Jobs or other tech leaders because of the school’s location in Silicon Valley.

“But we didn’t want to do that,” Blakely said. “We wanted to pick someone who embodied the values of what you can do with an education, as Jose does.”

Vargas founded and runs a nonprofit media organization called Define America, which “fights injustice and anti-immigrant hate through the power of storytelling.”

He has made two documentaries and designed a school curriculum aimed at teachers. His first book is forthcoming in September 2018.

Sophie Haigney is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sophie.haigney@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SophieHaigney