Many times, people who are being deported from the United States are simply being sent back to the country where they previously lived. Perhaps someone came to the U.S. with a work visa, for instance, but their job ended and they overstayed the visa. They could be deported back to their home country if they don’t properly change their status or seek other employment to satisfy the visa.
But there are also cases where people come over when they are younger, perhaps as children. When they get deported, they’re sent back to a country that they do not even really remember and do not have much connection with. In fact, one man said that, despite the fact that he was technically from the country that had been deported to, the people who were living there still essentially considered him to be an American. After all, he had lived most of his life in the United States.
Missing connections
There are many problems that this can create. It can be jarring for someone to be sent to live in a country that they are told is their home, but it certainly doesn’t feel like their home.
In many cases, all of their connections to their life remain in the United States. Some deportees have talked of having wives, husbands, girlfriends or boyfriends who remained behind when they were deported. Some of them even said that they had children. Many were familiar with people, places, types of employment and much more. They had built a comprehensive life in the United States, perhaps over decades, but being deported took them away from all of that.
Those who are at risk of deportation need to know about the legal options they have at their disposal.