Illegal Deportation Shatters Lives

For The Writers is seeking submissions for Illegal Deportation Shatters Lives, a project documenting the human toll of deportation practices carried out in violation of law and due process. The call invites nonfiction, testimonies, and personal essays from families separated, loved ones lost to dangerous removals, and communities left fractured by systemic injustice. By centering the voices of spouses, children, colleagues, and organizers who have witnessed these abuses firsthand, the series aims to preserve stories too often silenced and to confront the trauma, loss, and resilience behind U.S. immigration policy.

Call for Submissions: Illegal Deportation Shatters Lives

We are seeking nonfiction submissions from people whose lives have been broken by deportations carried out illegally and without due process. These abuses are happening in real time across the United States. Legal citizens have been detained and deported while attending lawful court hearings to renew or obtain citizenship. Parents with valid residency or asylum applications have been deported to countries they have not lived in for decades, leaving their children alone in the U.S. without guardians. Families separated at the southern border remain divided despite federal rulings ordering reunification.

Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz detention center has become a stark example of this crisis. Thrown together in record time to expand holding capacity, it opened its doors without the safeguards or oversight such a facility required. Within months, reports emerged of overcrowding, denial of medical care, and physical abuse of detainees. Attorneys described clients vanishing from official records, while families reported being unable to locate relatives who had been processed through the center. The facility was quickly shut down, but its short, chaotic existence left a trail of unanswered questions, including credible reports of people who entered the system and never came out.

These are not isolated events. From Florida to Texas to New Jersey, detainees have died after being denied medical care, while others deported to Honduras, El Salvador, or Haiti have been killed within weeks of arrival. These outcomes were foreseeable and preventable, yet U.S. authorities chose to proceed.

If you have lost a loved one through deportation, if your children were left behind, if a partner or parent disappeared inside facilities like Alligator Alcatraz, or if a family member was deported during lawful proceedings, your story belongs here. These testimonies must be documented to preserve the truth and to confront a system that continues to deny its violations of law and basic human rights.

Why Now

Across the United States, deportations are being carried out in ways that strip people of basic due process. Individuals are being detained and deported without hearings before an immigration judge, a direct violation of the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. U.S. citizens and lawful residents have been picked up at courthouses while attending required hearings to renew or adjust their status, and denied the right to present evidence or legal counsel before removal. Families report that detainees are pressured to sign “voluntary departure” papers under threat or misinformation, bypassing the protections outlined in both the Immigration and Nationality Act and international treaties such as the Refugee Convention.

At Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz detention center, attorneys have documented clients who disappeared from ICE’s public tracking system, raising serious questions about habeas corpus rights under Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution. Reports of medical neglect and blocked access to counsel further violate detainees’ rights to fair legal process and equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.

These are not technical oversights but deliberate practices that silence the very people most affected. By removing judicial oversight and cutting off access to representation, the system creates deportations that are not only unlawful but unconstitutional. This call is about confronting that reality and ensuring the voices of those directly harmed are placed on record.

What We’re Looking For (Among Other Things)

We are inviting personal essays, testimonies, letters, and narrative nonfiction pieces that explore:

• The loss of a loved one due to deportation;
  

• The emotional, financial, or psychological impact on those left behind;
  

• Barriers to justice, including lack of legal representation, legal recourse, discrimination, or government inaction; and/or
  

• Stories of resilience and remembrance—how you’ve carried on, advocated, or memorialized those lost.

We are especially interested in submissions from:

• Children and spouses of deported individuals;
  

• Community organizers and faith leaders who have witnessed unjust removals; and/or
  

• Colleagues, students, and neighbors—anyone whose life has been touched by this crisis.

Stories can be previously unpublished or personal reflections explicitly written for this call. Anonymous submissions will be considered, provided they are accompanied by appropriate context and protections.

Submission Guidelines

We welcome submissions across all open categories. Please follow the guidelines below to ensure your work is properly considered:

• File Uploads: You may include up to five files with your submission. Accepted formats include Word documents, PDFs, audio recordings, photographs, and video files that support or accompany your written narrative.
  

• Cover Letter: A cover letter is required for all submissions. This should provide a brief introduction, explain the context of your piece, and note whether anonymity is requested.
  

• Document Format: Written submissions must be formatted as a Word Document or PDF, using 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and clearly titled.
  

• Deadline: Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis, unless otherwise stated in your specific call.
  

• Anonymity and Privacy: If you request anonymity, we will remove all identifying details and handle your submission with the highest level of confidentiality. Your safety and privacy are a core priority of this project. We adhere to strict ethical editorial standards to protect every contributor.
  

Please carefully review the specific submission requirements for the call you’re responding to before submitting. We look forward to hearing your story and honoring it with the care it deserves.

Your Voice Matters

This is no longer about politics. This is about people, dignity, and the lives that have been stolen and shattered. If you have a story that has never been told or needs to be shared, we invite you to tell it. Truth becomes most critical in the face of historical erasure, and your truth needs to be heard.

Photos provided courtesy of Jason Leung.

Typos? Not on our watch. This article has been fact-checked and finessed by our eagle-eyed editors. Have more to contribute or see something worth calling out? Let us know.