On the left is retired basketball center Yao Ming and on the right is Jose Antonio Vargas who wrote about life as an Undocumented Immigrant.
Jose Antonio Vargas (born February 3, 1981) is a journalist, filmmaker, and immigration activist. A year later, a day after the publication of his Time cover story about his continued uncertainty regarding his immigration status, the Obama administration announced it was halting the deportation of undocumented immigrants age 30 and under eligible for the DREAM Act; Jose Antonio Vargas , who had just turned 31, did not qualify. Jose Antonio Vargas is the founder of Define American, a non-profit organization intended to open up dialogue about the criteria people use to determine who is an American. Jose Antonio Vargas was born in Antipolo, the Philippines. Jose Antonio Vargas was an Immigration law advocate. In 2011, Jose Antonio Vargas wrote an essay for The New York Times Sunday Magazine, in which he revealed that he is an undocumented immigrant. He detailed how he came to discover this as a teenager and kept it hidden for almost 15 years, during which time he worked, paid taxes, and worried that his status would be exposed.Jose Antonio Vargas ‘s essay received much media attention and was at the top of the Times “most-emailed” list the week it was published.He received the June 2011 Sidney Award for his essay, an award given by The Sidney Hillman Foundation to the “outstanding piece of socially-conscious journalism” published each month. Jose Antonio Vargas founded Define American in 2011, a non-profit project aimed at facilitating dialogue about immigration issues including the DREAM Act, which would provide undocumented immigrants with a path to citizenship through education or service in the military.The organization also invites individuals to share their experiences via video. In 2012 through Define American, Jose Antonio Vargas began to monitor the use of the term “illegal immigrant” in the media, hoping to influence news organizations to use the term “undocumented” instead, which Jose Antonio Vargas argues is a less dehumanizing term. In 2012, Jose Antonio Vargas worked with filmmaker Chris Weitz on a group of four short documentaries entitled Is this Alabama? In the years since revealing his status in 2011, Jose Antonio Vargas has become the public face of undocumented immigrants. Jose Antonio Vargas wrote, directed, and produced the autobiographical film Documented: A film by an undocumented American, released in 2013 and presented by CNN Films in 2014. It portrays his life from the time he was sent from the Philippines to the United States as a child, his discovery of his immigration status at age 16, his college years, career as a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and his decision to out himself as undocumented. Jose Antonio Vargas has worked closely with the tech advocacy group FWD.us in their efforts to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform. On July 15, 2014, Jose Antonio Vargas was arrested by immigration authorities while trying to leave the border town of McAllen, Texas. Jose Antonio Vargas was there for a vigil organized by United We Dream outside a shelter for recently released Central American migrants. He had a camera crew from Define American with him to interview and film undocumented immigrant minor children from Central America. PEN Center USA announced in July 2014 that they are giving Jose Antonio Vargas their 2014 Freedom to Write award for his immigration advocacy writing. In June 2012, Jose Antonio Vargas wrote a cover story for Time magazine about the uncertainty of his life “in limbo” in the year since he revealed himself to be an undocumented immigrant. The day after the article appeared, President Obama announced that his administration would halt the deportation of undocumented immigrants age 30 and under who would qualify for DREAM Act relief and provide work permits for them, allowing them to remain in the US legally; argas, at age 31, however, was not eligible for this program, but greeted it as a “victory for DREAMers”. On July 15, 2014, Jose Antonio Vargas was arrested by immigration authorities while trying to leave the border town of McAllen, Texas. Jose Antonio Vargas was there for a vigil organized by United We Dream outside a shelter for recently released Central American migrants. He had a camera crew from Define American with him to interview and film undocumented immigrant minor children from Central America. Jose Antonio Vargas wrote that he did not realize until he was there that he would have to cross through a U.S. Customs and Border Protection checkpoint to leave the Rio Grande Valley. He went through airport security with his Philippine passport and a pocket-size copy of the United States Constitution. Initially cleared by the Transportation Security Administration, a border agent took his passport, reviewed his documents, asked him some questions, placed him in handcuffs, and escorted him to the McAllen Border Patrol station for further questioning. He was released later that day. PEN Center USA announced in July 2014 that they are giving Jose Antonio Vargas their 2014 Freedom to Write award for his immigration advocacy writing.
Yao Ming who is nicknamed The Dynasty or The Great Wall was born September 12, 1980 in Shanghai, China. He is height 7’6” and weight 310 lbs. He play the Center in the NBA and in China. He is Right-handed. Yao Ming was drafted by the Houston Rockets, 1st round (1st pick, 1st overall), 2002 NBA Draft he wore Number 11 for Houston rockets. At the time of his final season, he was the tallest active player in the NBA, at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in). As of 2014, he is the 31st tallest person alive. After negotiating with the CBA and the Sharks to secure his release, Yao was selected by the Houston Rockets as the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft. Yao was selected to start for the Western Conference in the NBA All-Star Game eight times, and was named to the All-NBA Team five times. Yao Ming career began in China when Yao was nine years old, he began playing basketball and attended a junior sports school. Entering the NBA draft Yao was pressured to enter the NBA draft in 1999 by Li Yaomin, the deputy general manager of the Shanghai Sharks. When Yao decided to enter the 2002 NBA draft, a group of advisers was formed that came to be known as “Team Yao”. Shortly after Wang Zhizhi refused to return to China to play for the national team and was subsequently banned from playing for China, the CBA stipulated that Yao would have to return to play for the national team. After assurances from Team Yao that the Rockets would draft Yao with their number one pick, the CBA gave permission on the morning of the draft for Yao to play in the U.S. Jeff Van Gundy while coaching the Houston Rockets began focusing the offense on Yao, Yao averaged career highs in points and rebounds for the season, and had a career-high 41 points and 7 assists in a triple-overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks in February 2004. He was also voted to be the starting center for the Western Conference in the 2004 NBA All-Star Game for the second straight year. Yao finished the season averaging 17.5 points and 9.0 rebounds a game. The Rockets made the playoffs for the first time in Yao’s career, claiming the seventh seed in the Western Conference. In the first round, however, the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated Houston in five games. Yao averaged 15.0 points and 7.4 rebounds in his first playoff series. After the trade, it was predicted that the Rockets would be title contenders. Both McGrady and Yao were voted to start in the 2005 NBA All-Star Game, and Yao broke the record previously held by Michael Jordan for most All-Star votes, with 2,558,278 total votes. The Rockets won 51 games and finished fifth in the West, and made the playoffs for the second consecutive year, where they faced the Dallas Mavericks. The Rockets won the first two games in Dallas, and Yao made 13 of 14 shots in the second game, the best shooting performance in the playoffs in Rockets history. However the Rockets lost four of their last five games and lost Game 7 by 40 points, the largest Game 7 deficit in NBA history. Yao’s final averages for the series were 21.4 points on 65% shooting and 7.7 rebounds. Yao Ming was Injury-plagued seasons (2005–2011). After missing only two games out of 246 in his first three years of NBA play,Yao endured an extended period on the inactive list in his fourth season after developing osteomyelitis in the big toe on his left foot, and surgery was performed on the toe on December 18, 2005. Despite missing 21 games while recovering, Yao again had the most fan votes to start the 2006 NBA All-Star Game. In his fifth season, Yao averaged a career-high 25 points per game. In 25 games after the All-Star break, Yao averaged 25.7 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 53.7% from the field and 87.8% at the free-throw line. His final averages in 57 games were 22.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. It was the first time that he ended the season with a so-called “20/10” average. However, Tracy McGrady played only 47 games in the season, missing time because of back spasms. Yao and McGrady played only 31 games together, and the Rockets did not make the playoffs, winning only 34 games. With only four games left in the season, Yao suffered another injury in a game against the Utah Jazz on April 10, 2006, which left him with a broken bone in his left foot. On November 9, 2007, Yao played against fellow Chinese NBA and Milwaukee Bucks player Yi Jianlian for the first time. The game, which the Rockets won 104–88, was broadcast on 19 networks in China, and was watched by over 200 million people in China alone, making it one of the most-watched NBA games in history. In the 2008 NBA All-Star Game, Yao was once again voted to start at center for the Western Conference. Before the All-Star weekend, the Rockets had won eight straight games, and after the break, they took their win streak to 12 games. For the 2010–11 season, the Rockets said they would limit Yao to 24 minutes a game, with no plan to play him on back-to-back nights. Shaquille O’Neal said Yao “was very agile. The Hall granted Yao’s request, and said it was Yao’s decision when the process would be restarted. Yao was the leading scorer of the 2006 FIBA World Championships during his International career. During the 2000 and 2004 Olympics Yao first played for China in the Summer Olympics at the 2000 Olympics Basketball Tournament, and he was dubbed, together with 7-foot (2.1 m) teammates Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer, “The Walking Great Wall”. During the 2004 Athens Olympics, Yao carried the Chinese flag during the opening ceremony, which he said was a “long dream come true”. He then vowed to abstain from shaving his beard for half a year unless the Chinese national basketball team made it into the quarter-finals of the 2004 Olympics Basketball Tournament. After Yao scored 39 points in a win against New Zealand, China lost 58–83, 57–82, and 52–89 against Spain, Argentina and Italy respectively. In the final group game, however, a 67–66 win over the reigning 2002 FIBA World Champions Serbia and Montenegro moved them into the quarterfinals. Yao scored 27 points and had 13 rebounds, and he hit two free throws with 28 seconds left that proved to be the winning margin. He averaged 20.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game while shooting 55.9% from the field. Yao led the Chinese national team to 3 consecutive FIBA Asian Championship gold medals, winning the 2001 FIBA Asian Championship, the 2003 FIBA Asian Championship, and the 2005 FIBA Asian Championship. He was also named the MVP of all three tournaments. Yao’s injury at the end of the 2005–06 NBA season required a full six months of rest, threatening his participation in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. However, he recovered before the start of the tournament, and in the last game of the preliminary round, he had 36 points and 10 rebounds in a win against Slovenia to lead China into the Round of 16. In the first knockout round, however, China was defeated by eventual finalist Greece. Yao’s final averages were 25.3 points, the most in the tournament, and 9.0 rebounds a game, which was fourth overall. After having surgery to repair his fractured foot, Yao stated if he could not play in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, “It would be the biggest loss in my career to right now”. He returned to play with the Chinese national team on July 17, 2008. On August 6, Yao carried the Olympic Flame into Tiananmen Square, as part of the Olympic torch relay. He also carried the Chinese flag and led his country’s delegation during the opening ceremony. Yao scored the first basket of the game, a three-pointer, in China’s opening game against the eventual gold medal-winning United States.
“I was just really happy to make that shot,” Yao said after the Americans’ 101–70 victory. “It was the first score in our Olympic campaign here at home and I’ll always remember it. It represents that we can keep our heads up in the face of really tough odds.”
Following an overtime defeat to Spain,Yao scored 30 points in a win over Angola, and 25 points in a three-point win against Germany, which clinched China’s place in the quarterfinals. However, China lost to Lithuania in the quarterfinals by 26 points, eliminating them from the tournament. Yao’s 19 points a game were the second-highest in the Olympics, and his averages of 8.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game were third overall. Yao Ming is married to Ye Li. She is 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) tall, she is married to Yao Ming, a former center who played for the NBA’s Houston Rockets. Ye met Yao at the age of seventeen in 1998. They married on August 6, 2007. The couple’s first child, a daughter named Yao Qinlei (Amy in English), was born in Houston, Texas, United States on May 21, 2010.
Basketball giant Yao Ming and Jose Antonio Vargas who wrote about being an Undocumented Immigrant are famous people that look alike. They are both from Asia and both reside in the United Sates.
