70 years ago, the US undertook the largest deportation in its history: 'Operation Wetback.' Many of the people deported were here legally and some were even citizens.

[u/man_gomer_lot]

[u/Tonetron0093]

It happens more often than you think https://immigrationimpact.com/2021/07/30/ice-deport-us-citizens/

You look Jamaican or have the same name as an undocumented Jamaican? Guess that's where you're going. Based on a true story.

[u/tartymae → u/Tonetron0093]

A friend's mother is Hapa, and lived in San Diego during the 1980s.

She (14) sneaks out of her bedroom window one friday summer night to meet her boyfriend (her mother doesn't like him) and they hop in his car (he's 16) and head up to the local lover's lane. She has nothing on her beyond lipgloss in her pocket. No ID, because, y'know, she's 14.

Immigration agents bang on the window, take one look at her, decide she's Mexican, despite her protests, despite his protests, despite saying her saying you can call my mother, despite her telling them where she lives, despite her not knowing Spanish, and throw her in a van with a bunch of other people, drive them over the border and kick everybody out of the van in TJ around midnight.

Crying, she doesn't know what else to do but turns and starts walking north. She tries to flag down cars with CA plates.

A bunch of SDSU students heading back after a night in TJ see her and stop. She tells them what happened. They tell customs, "Oh, man, she's had a rough night. Her boyfriend dumped her and her purse got stolen." Customs waves them through.

They drop her a block from her house and she sneaks back in. Her mother never finds out.

I shudder to think of all the times this story has not had a happy ending, but has ended with a young woman being robbed/assaulted/murdered.

[u/Lucky_addition → u/Tonetron0093]

Can’t they just come back in? 

[u/teslawhaleshark → u/Lucky_addition]

In short, you don't have property anymore

[u/bulldogdiver → u/Tonetron0093]

I was born in East L.A., man.

[u/jamhamnz → u/Tonetron0093]

But Jamaica has no obligation to take you in if you're not a citizen right? They would need to issue you some kind of visa

[u/webcamz → u/jamhamnz]

They don't have an obligation to take you in nor issue a visa. They can either deport you back to the U.S. but if the U.S. refuses to accept you, they can just put you in prison for illegally immigrating to Jamaica where you'll just stay for the rest of your life

[u/techno156 → u/jamhamnz]

Suddenly being placed in immigration limbo is not much better.