Californians who are immigrants and refugees are beloved members of our families, neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, places of worship and faith, sports teams, and so much more. Yet when immigrant Californians are treated differently under unjust and exclusionary policies, these vibrant communities suffer.
In recent years, calls to end mass incarceration and meaningfully address racial injustice have resulted in California legislators passing broadly-supported criminal justice reforms. These laws enable people to return to their communities after they have earned their release from prison or jail. Immigrant Californians, however, are not included in these measures because of where they were born. Instead, they are subject to an unequal system of justice and the state prison system pushes them into ICE detention and deportation. This double punishment devastates families across our state.
In the face of these injustices, immigrant communities are at the forefront of a statewide movement to reunite families and help more people build safe and thriving lives. In partnership with Survival Media Agency and the ICE out of CA coalition, we’ve had the chance to spend time with Californians who have been directly impacted by the state’s prison-to-ICE pipeline. They are among the lucky few to leave ICE detention through tireless community and legal advocacy. These Californians are rebuilding their lives in beautiful ways, made possible because they are home.
Their stories and photos that capture the safety and community strength made possible when people can come home. Follow #HomeNotHeartbreak on Twitter and Instagram for updates.
Stories
An Thanh Nguyen & Tin Nguyen: 'Freedom is to be there for my family when they need me.'
At the Asian Garden Mall, Tin Nguyen and An Thanh Nguyen met over some pho. They reminisced and shared their dreams, which hinge on their ability to stay in the community they love and call home.
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Marisela Andrade: ‘I'm not going to give up’
Marisela recently celebrated her birthday with family and friends after years in state prison and federal immigration detention. We speak with Marisela about her hopes as she fights deportation.
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Maria Luna: ‘I want to help people, just like what America says it does.’
Maria reflected on the closeness of her family and her advocacy to protect herself and others from ICE deportation while standing outside Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles’ Chinatown.
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Phoeun You: ‘We are resilient people. I stem from that. I can use that to fuel my future.’
Despite a massive surge of community support for Phoeun’s pardon, ICE deported him to Cambodia. We spoke with Phoeun about his reflections on heritage, and his continued fight to come home.
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Maricela Santos Hernández: ‘We need real change and we need it to come from people that really know the pain we experience.’
For years, Maricela Santos Hernández has been a powerful advocate for immigrant families throughout the Bay Area.
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Brian Bukle: ‘I want to help the people that no one cares about.’
After CDCR ignored Brian’s and his family’s requests to confirm his citizenship, ICE also ignored their repeated efforts and detained him for 36 days at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility.
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Vithea Yung & His Family: ‘There’s hope in trying to reunite with your family.’
Vithea’s homecoming this past April marked a rare community victory. Between January 2020 & November 2021, CDCR transferred 2,600 people who have served their sentence or been granted release to ICE.
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Phoeun You & His Family: ‘The happiest moment of my life will be Phoeun coming home.’
Sy is yearning for the whole family to be reunited and dreaming of a day when her uncle, Phoeun You, can come home to his loved ones.
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