What is #ReuniteUS

Deportation—permanent banishment from one’s home, country, and life as they know it—is an extreme consequence for lacking a visa, or crossing a border to build a better life. Yet it’s treated casually by immigration judges, federal agencies, and others in positions of power.

Centering deported people and their families, #ReuniteUS is a publicity and advocacy campaign led by the Ohio Immigrant Alliance to pressure the Biden administration to open paths home for people who were deported. We also support legislation to accomplish this goal. This is about creating a world where people who were deported and their loved ones can reunite, live in safety, and build a future together. 

#ReuniteUS uses storytelling; coalition-building; grassroots advocacy; and legal cases as primary tactics. Maryam Sy, our lead organizer on the project, interviewed over 250 people who were deported or left the country before being deported, and want to come home. They are part of a #ReuniteUS WhatsApp group that engages in advocacy actions and are compensated for their time when funding allows. 

For example, our #ReuniteTV YouTube channel features dispatches from deported people. #ReuniteSpeaks connects them to paid speaking and consulting opportunities. We have been working on “test” legal cases and having some success. Our group filed 148 comments to a federal register notice giving recommendations to the Family Separation Task Force, urging the government to include parents deported from inside the U.S. in its lens.

We lead a national working group to coordinate with influential non-profit organizations and are planning lobby visits in Washington, DC where loved ones of deported people—and deported people themselves, via Zoom—will meet with senators, congresspeople, and the Biden administration.

The long-term goal of the project is even bigger than paths to return. It’s a shift in paradigm. Our vision for the future is one where deportation is rare, if non-existent. We do not detain immigrants for paperwork problems. Immigration laws are fair, humane, and have paths to compliance rather than being oriented around punishment and rejection. 

#ReuniteUS is an ambitious and achievable goal. Most U.S. Americans would agree that lifetime banishment is an extreme consequence for a civil law violation, and that families should be together. The act of bringing a mother, father, or child back to their loved ones in the United States is beautiful, positive, and profound. Our campaign is built for this reality, and the belief that people in power will find joy in using their power for good.