CEBU CITY, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) – It was as if he knew it was coming. Jose Antonio Vargas, a Filipino American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the most popular undocumented immigrants in the United States, was detained Tuesday, July 15, in McAllen, Texas. He was attempting to fly out of the city, after visiting child migrants from Central America who are being held in detention centers in the southern US state. And he live tweeted everything from the moment he entered the airport to his arrest.

About to go thru security at McAllen Airport. I don’t know what’s going to happen. For updates follow @DefineAmerican & @MAC_UTPA

— Jose Antonio Vargas (@joseiswriting) July 15, 2014

“I flew into the valley Thursday morning to visit a shelter for unaccompanied Central American refugees and participate in a vigil in their honor,” Vargas said in a recent piece he wrote for online news magazine Politico.

At around 8:26 am Tuesday in Texas (9:26 pm Tuesday in Manila), Vargas Tweeted this photo of his Philippine passport and a pocket-sized copy of the US constitution before he was detained. 

The only IDs I have for security: Philippine passport and my pocketbook US Constitution @DefineAmerican & @MAC_UTPA pic.twitter.com/IFH0Vb4oX7

— Jose Antonio Vargas (@joseiswriting) July 15, 2014

Vargas has been living and traveling openly without legal authorization in the US since 2011. His calls for immigration reform have either been met with support or hostility. 

According to CNN, an official statement from authorities on why Vargas was detained has yet to be issued.

Define American campaign director Ryan Eller issued this statement shortly after Vargas was detained: “This morning, Mr. Vargas attempted to board a plane to Los Angeles where we are scheduled to screen our film Documented. Mr. Vargas did not make it through security at the airport. Our understanding is that he is currently being questioned by border patrol.” He added, “the community leaders standing with me work with constituents and live this reality each and every day.”

He was detained briefly by police in 2012 in Minnesota for a traffic violation and driving without a license, but they did not report him to immigration authorities. 

At around 8:57 am in Texas (9:57 pm in Manila) Define American, the identity and immigration awareness organization Vargas co-founded, retweeted this statement on his detention. (READ: ‘Undocumented American’ from PH on cover of Time) 

.@DefineAmerican's impromptu press statement in McAllen after @joseiswriting is detained: http://t.co/omanOXHds4 pic.twitter.com/jOy1rKjc8n

— E McMorris-Santoro (@EvanMcSan) July 15, 2014

Vargas’ controversial personal essay that was published in the New York Times Magazine in 2011 ‘My Life As An Undocumented Immigrant,’ where he revealed his status as an undocumented immigrant, elevated the immigration debate in the United States. (WATCH: Rappler Hangout with Jose Antonio Vargas)

Key moments in the 3 years following the release of his essay were captured in a film he directed and produced called Documented, which premiered on CNN last June 29. 

Eller said in the same press statement, “We are calling on President Obama and Secretary Johnson to exercise prosecutorial discretion and immediately release Jose Antonio Vargas from Customs and Border Protection custody.”

According to latest estimates, around 50,000 children from Central America entered the US without papers. 

“Our America is better than this – more humane, more compassionate – and we are fighting for a better America: a country we love but has yet to recognize us,” Vargas said in a statement through his organization Define American. – Rappler.com