A Campaign to Reunite Families and Communities & End Unjust Deportations
For decades, the U.S. immigration system has deported thousands of people, permanently separating them from family and community. In some cases, the deported had strong legal grounds for remaining in the United States. In others, the government abused its discretion, imposing detention and deportation in grossly unfair ways. The unjustly deported, who now seek to return and reunite with loved ones, include U.S. military veterans, civil rights activists, former DACA recipients and a disproportionate number of Black and Brown immigrants. Across the world, journalists, filmmakers, politicians and activists are calling on the U.S. to redress the injustices of its immigration system – to give the unjustly deported A Chance to Come Home. Watch the Chance to Come Home campaign launch and download a printable summary of the campaign.
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Chance to Come Home Campaign Launch
On June 1, 2023, the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), along with a group of 10 unjustly deported advocates, members of Congress, and more than 20 organizational partners, launched the Chance to Come Home campaign. The campaign calls on the Biden administration to create a process to allow people who have been unjustly deported a chance to return to the United States.
Townhall and Film Screening in Los Angeles
Over 250 people tuned-in to hear from Howard Bailey, deported U.S. veteran who returned to the U.S. in 2021 and Sara Hamdi, sister of deported single-mother and DACA recipient Tina Hamdi who lives in exile fighting to return to her family. This event also featured expert commentary from Ahilan Arulanantham, Faculty Co-Director at UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy, and Alex Rivera, Sundance award-winning filmmaker and professor. This townhall was led by the National Immigrant Justice Center, UCLA Center for Immigration Law & Policy, Arizona State University’s Sidney Poitier New American Film School, and Borderlands Studio and supported by the MacArthur Foundation.
#ChancetoComeHome Updates
Uplift news and stories of unjustly deported people seeking to reunite with their families and communities.
Meet 10 people seeking a Chance to Come Home
These courageous advocates represent the thousands of U.S. community members who have been deported from the United States. The lasting harm of their separations from community and family, and the injustices that led to their deportations, emphasize why the Biden administration must create a fair and effective system for people to apply to return to the United States after deportation.
Goura Ndiaye: Father & Entrepreneur, Living in Exile with Disability
Paul Pierrilus: Brother, Son, New Yorker
Assia Serrano: Leader, Mother, Survivor
Carlos Sauceda: Advocate, Mentor, Husband
Tina Hamdi: Teacher, Mother, Survivor
Samuel Anthony: Youth Mentor, Brother, Son
Welcome Home, Vanessa! Entrepreneur & Champion for Son Living with Disability
Juan Carlos Romero Escobar: Oldest Brother, Devoted Son, Proudly LGBTQ
Leonel Pinilla: Husband, Father, Breadwinner
Ibrahima Keita: Husband, Father, Breadwinner
A Roadmap to Bring Home the Unjustly Deported
In April 2021, NIJC released Chance to Come Home: A Roadmap to Bring Home the Unjustly Deported, a white paper proposing a central system, using existing immigration laws and procedures, that would provide unjustly deported people a meaningful opportunity to apply to return. NIJC released this white paper in support of the growing call among communities in the United States and abroad for the Biden administration to bring home the unjustly deported. NIJC provides a concrete proposal for a centralized mechanism to consider post-deportation requests in an efficient yet individualized manner. Most importantly, the white paper makes the case for this process by documenting the harms deportation and separation from loved ones imposes on immigrant families and their communities. The paper also shares the stories of 11 unjustly deported people, six of whom have returned home to reunite with their families and communities since the paper’s release.
