"Wonder if anyone has ever compiled a list of famous Americans who were once illegal," I ask on Facebook. "Are there any? I'd like to think so, but do not know."
I search, and am surprised at who I find. The names are not just of Americans, but they are big names, including a former governor. Quora.com lists John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Charlie Chaplin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Michael J. Fox.
Buzzfeed adds actresses Salma Hayek and Academy Award-winning Charlize Theron, and the star of The Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan, to the list.
The Hollywood Reporter says Oscar nominee Demian Bichir overstayed his visa. He later was naturalized as part of President Reagan's amnesty. The Reporter also says The Associated Press has reported that Melanie Trump was paid for 10 jobs without having a work visa to be here. And, the Reporter says Hiep Thi Le, the star of Heaven & Earth came to the U.S. on a forged document.
WBAL TV says world-renown brain surgeon Alfredo Quinones-Hinjosa once scaled the fence at the Mexican border to enter the United States.
The Washington Examiner tells the story of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio, who in 2012 told the New York Times Magazine that he was illegal. He wrote a piece in Time titled, Not Legal Not Leaving. Border Patrol agents seized and detained him in 2014, but I don't know if he was deported.
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