For Those Facing Deportation: A Guide to Resources and Rights
by Rebecca Ginsburg / Apr 15, 2025
I was grateful to see Carolyn Vance’s Town Hall guest column, “They’re Not Criminals but Neighbors” (April 8), which highlighted the urgent realities facing our community.
I’m writing as director of the Education Justice Project, a unit of the University of Illinois that produces the deportation guide she referenced, to offer more information about how individuals can access this guide — and why we produce it.
Since 2018, EJP has produced and regularly updated “A New Path: A Guide to the Challenges & Opportunities After Deportation.” Initially developed for people facing deportation upon release from prison — whose reentry needs were not fully addressed in our broader reentry guide, “Mapping Your Future” — the guide’s scope expanded after we learned it was being used by a much wider range of people: U.S. family members of those facing deportation, unaccompanied minors, individuals preparing for voluntary departure and more.
The current 2023–24 edition, over 150 pages and available in English and Spanish, includes practical information on preparing for deportation, navigating the journey, accessing food, shelter, and health care upon arrival, and understanding your rights. Given recent developments, the “Know your rights” section is especially relevant. While we work to release an updated edition this summer, this version remains an invaluable resource.
To request a free copy, visit educationjustice.net. Organizations may request multiple copies. If your agency can contribute financially, we welcome that support; it allows us to provide the guide at no cost to those who need it most.
EJP does not support deportation. We produce this guide because we are realists committed to human dignity. We aspire to a world in which people impacted by incarceration can lead full, meaningful, liberated lives.
That’s why we offer a college education inside prison and engage in public policy to expand access to higher education for incarcerated individuals across Illinois.
Our guides are part of that same mission. They offer critical information for people navigating life-altering transitions to help ensure they are able to continue to pursue a path of learning, growth and contribution to their families and communities.
We never imagined a time when our deportation guide would be requested not only by people exiting prison but also by international students on our own campus. That day has arrived.
If you know someone who could benefit from “A New Path,” please help us get it into their hands. If you’re aware of resources to help us expand this important work, we’d be grateful to connect.
This article was originally published in the Champaign News-Gazette on April 15.