top of page

Call for Submissions: The Hidden Cost—Deportation Disrupts Business, Labor, and Community

Updated: 3 days ago

We are seeking nonfiction submissions from business owners, managers, and entrepreneurs whose operations, employees, or communities have been directly impacted by recent deportation efforts, especially those carried out in violation of constitutional rights, labor protections, or due process.


Whether you've lost key team members, faced sudden raids at your workplace, struggled to protect undocumented workers, or watched your business suffer in silence, we want to hear your story and help elevate it.



Why Your Voice Matters


Behind every immigration raid is a ripple effect that doesn’t end at the border. It echoes through the kitchens, fields, classrooms, clinics, and construction sites where real people, not policies, make businesses run.


These stories are often excluded from public conversation. Yet, they reflect a vital truth: deportation doesn’t just break families, it breaks local economies, weakens industries, and erodes trust between employers and government.


You’ve seen it firsthand. Now, we invite you to speak out.



What We’re Looking For


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


  • The loss of valued employees due to deportation or ICE raids;

  • The emotional and financial toll of workplace enforcement actions;

  • Legal or ethical challenges you faced trying to protect undocumented or mixed-status workers;

  • The broader impact on your business, customers, or local economy;

  • How your business is responding, rebuilding, or resisting.


Stories can be submitted anonymously or under your name and may be drawn from any industry—hospitality, agriculture, construction, tech, education, or beyond.



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 briefly introduce you (if you’re comfortable), 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 font, double-spaced, and clearly titled.

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

  • Anonymity & 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.



This Isn’t Just About Workers. It’s About Livelihoods.


If your business has paid the price for policies that ignore the law and disrupt the fabric of your workforce, your story deserves to be heard, not buried in silence. Speak up for those who can’t. Stand up for what’s right.


Because every deportation is a disruption.


And every disruption has a cost.




Comments

bottom of page