Deported from US, these social media influencers are now monetizing their misfortune
usatoday.com -- Sunday, August 17, 2025, 6:28:05 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Categories: Presidential Campaigns, Immigration Policy & Border Issues
Social media influencer Annie Garcia shares how life after deportation led to healing and connection.
Deported and alone, Annie Garcia landed in Mexico with $40 in her pocket, a criminal record in the United States behind her and an unknown future ahead in a country she barely remembered.
Fast forward to the present, to a video shared with her more than half-a-million social media followers in August. Her hair blows in the wind as she speeds on a boat through an emerald sea. She tagged the clip: #LifeAfterDeportation.
Expelled from the United States, young Mexican immigrants like Garcia, 35, are documenting the aftermath of their deportation online. Their videos - raw grief over what they lost in America, surprise and gratitude for what they've found in Mexico - are rapidly gaining them tens of thousands of followers.
At least a dozen of these deportees-turned-influencers, Garcia included, have started over in Mexico's west coast beach gem, Puerto Vallarta.
"If there's one thing I wish my content could embody it's how much life there is on this side of the border," Garcia wrote June 15 on Instagram. "Our countries aren't what they were 20 or 30 years ago when our parents left."
Returning to an unfamiliar 'home'
More than 70,000 Mexican nationals were deported from the United States to Mexico in the first six months of 2025, according to Mexico's Interior Ministry.
That's down from the more than 102,000 deported during the same six-month period in 2024, when people were being deported after crossing the border. Now, the people being deported are more likely to have built lives and families in the United States.
With President Donald Trump's aggressive mass deportation campaign underway, Francisco Hernández-Corona feared being detained.
So he self-deported to Mexico, accompanied by his husband. He started vlogging. The 30-something Harvard graduate and former Dreamer had been taken to the United States illegally as a boy, he explained on TikTok. Multiple attempts to legalize his status in the United States failed.
In June, he posted his migration - and self-deportation - stories online.
Between photos of golden sunsets and mouthwatering tacos, he posted in July: "Self-deporting isn't always freedom and joy and new adventures. Sometimes it's pain and nostalgia and anger and sadness. Sometimes you just miss the home that was."
'Life in the pueblo is not easy'
Mexico remains a country of extremes, where stunning vistas and limitless wealth can be found in big cities and beach resorts, while hardship and poverty often overwhelm smaller communities.
Olga Mijangos was deported from Las Vegas in on Christmas Eve 2024, two years after being charged with a DUI. She returned to the Oaxaca state pueblo she had left when she was 5.
Mijangos, 33, has tattoos on her neck, stylized brows and long lashes - all part of her Vegas style.
Back in her hometown, she began posting videos of goats being herded through the streets; the community rodeo; the traditional foods she began cooking. She posted videos from her first job: harvesting and cleaning cucumbers, earning 300 pesos a day, or $15.
"I clearly understand why my mother decided to take us when we were little. Life in the pueblo is not easy," she said in a video of the cucumber harvest. "There is hard-living. There is poverty."
Struggling to make ends meet for her family, including two children with her in Mexico and one in the United States, she moved to Puerto Vallarta where she met Garcia and Hernández-Corona.
They began forming an in-real-life community of deportees-turned-influencers and others who left the U.S. They meet up for dinner at least once a month, and they create content. In their videos, they're having fun, drinks, laughs. But they're also celebrating what binds them to each other and to their parents' migration stories before them: their capacity for reinvention, and their resilience.
"I'm very proud to be Mexican, and I'm learning to love a country I didn't get to grow up in, but I shouldn't have had to leave the home I knew to find peace and freedom," said Hernández-Corona, a clinical psychologist, in a July post on TikTok. "This isn't a blessing. It's resilience."
Spanish skills, savings and support all matter
A lot of their content has the draw of a classic American up-by-their-bootstraps success story, with a modern social media twist: from hardship to sponsorship.
But the reality is that deportees' experience of building a life in Mexico can vary dramatically, depending on their earning capacity, language and cultural skills, and other factors, said Israel Ibarra González, a professor of migration studies at Mexico's Colegio de la Frontera Norte university.
Deportees with savings in U.S. dollars and a college degree, those who speak Spanish and have supportive relatives in Mexico, may have an easier time than those who don't, he said.
Others may face life-threatening risks upon their return, from the violence of organized crime to political persecution or death threats.
"However much violence they've lived with in the United States, it's not the same as going back to a war zone," Ibarra González said, referring to certain Mexican states where drug cartels are actively battling for territorial control.
Wherever they land - with the exception of some cosmopolitan cities - deported Mexicans have faced local prejudices, too. They've often been viewed as criminals, or their deportations as a failure.
"Did I feel a lot of judgment? Absolutely," Mijangos said of her return to Oaxaca. "Even though it's my roots, I basically came from a different world. I have tattoos. I lived my life a certain way that they don't. I could feel people talking."
But friends back home in Vegas, and new friends in Mexico, started encouraging her to share her deportation journey. It took her a few weeks to work up the courage. She posted a video of sending her U.S. citizen son to a Mexican school.
It racked up nearly 14 million views and 2 million "likes" on TikTok, she said. Suddenly, TikTok was asking if she wanted to join the app's content creators rewards program.
'Your criminal record doesn't follow you'
By taking their stories online, deported content creators say they are dismantling longstanding taboos around deportation in Mexico, shining a light on their experiences as Mexicans who didn't grow up in Mexico, and on their past mistakes.
Garcia speaks openly on her social media about the financial crimes she committed in her 20s, for which she was charged and convicted, and that ultimately led to her deportation.
She migrated to the United States when she was 4 years old, "out of necessity," she said. Her mother married an American citizen in Salt Lake City, Utah, and she and her mother both became legal permanent residents.
But when Garcia began acting out as a child, the state intervened. "I was taken from my mother at the age of 12 because I had behavioral issues," she told USA TODAY. "I was separated from my family, and I grew up with other juveniles with behavior (problems)."
As a young single mother, she would steal from her employers when she couldn't pay the bills, she said.
In Mexico she found a clean slate. "Your criminal record doesn't follow you," once you've paid your debt to society in the United States, Garcia tells her followers. "You can pursue higher education. Any debts you had in the U.S. do not follow you here."
As Trump's immigration crackdown widens, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has been publicly offering moral support to Mexicans facing deportation. She has called them "heroes and heroines" who "have contributed to the United States their entire lives."
"We're going to keep defending our brothers and sisters there," she said in a June 25 news conference.
'Maybe ... things will change'
Garcia's social media accounts have grown so popular that she's earning a living, in part, from content creation. She is doing research on reintegration after deportation for an American university. And she has "tunnel vision," she said, on completing a law degree in Mexico.
The pain of her deportation, and the losses it brought with it, are mostly in the past. Except when she catches news of the immigration raids in the United States.
The memories of her detention, and her separation from her five children, including an infant, remain fresh. It took Garcia more than a year after her 2017 deportation to win custody of her children, to bring them to Mexico.
"It's very, very triggering to me to see what's going on up there," she said. "It's a bittersweet feeling. I feel safe. I feel relief. We're here. It doesn't affect us any more. But it feels heartbreaking to see other families living through it.
"When I first started sharing my story my idea was, 'Maybe if I talk about this, things will change'" in the United States, she said.
She kept at it, despite facing hate and trolls online. She kept posting, even after losing two jobs in Mexico for openly discussing her deportation and criminal past on social media.
She kept sharing, thinking, she said: "This is what is going to change things one day: us putting our stories out there."
Sign Our PetitionThe stories of deported social media influencers like Annie Garcia and Francisco Hernández-Corona illuminate the complex realities faced by individuals who have been uprooted from their lives in the United States. The deportation of over 70,000 Mexican nationals in the first half of 2025 serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of aggressive immigration policies that have been a hallmark of recent U.S. administrations, particularly during the Trump era. This shift from primarily deporting recent border crossers to targeting those who have built lives and families in the U.S. speaks volumes about the human cost of a political climate that prioritizes punitive immigration enforcement over compassion and social justice.
As Garcia and Hernández-Corona navigate their post-deportation lives, their experiences shed light on a broader narrative of resilience and adaptation. Their online content not only serves as a means of personal expression and healing but also functions as a powerful critique of the systems that led to their deportation. By sharing their stories, they challenge the simplistic narratives often perpetuated by right-wing rhetoric, which frames immigrants as burdens rather than human beings with rich histories and contributions to society. The influencers' ability to monetize their misfortune highlights a growing trend in which marginalized voices find platforms that allow them to reclaim their narratives and foster connections with others who share similar experiences.
Historically, the United States has a long and tumultuous relationship with immigration, often oscillating between periods of openness and strict enforcement. For much of the 20th century, the U.S. experienced waves of immigration, with many individuals fleeing political turmoil, economic hardship, and violence in their home countries. However, the late 20th and early 21st centuries saw a dramatic shift towards militarization of the border and increasingly harsh immigration policies. This shift has disproportionately affected communities of color, particularly Latinx individuals, who are often subject to racial profiling and systemic discrimination. The deportation of individuals like Garcia and Hernández-Corona is a direct result of these policies, which perpetuate cycles of trauma and displacement.
The influencers' experiences also resonate with ongoing social struggles related to identity, belonging, and the quest for justice. The emotional toll of deportation is profound, as Garcia poignantly expresses the nostalgia and anger that accompany her return to a homeland that feels foreign. Such sentiments highlight the need for a more humane immigration policy that recognizes the complexities of individual circumstances, particularly for those who may have been brought to the U.S. as children. Advocating for pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, particularly those with deep ties to their communities, is essential to addressing the injustices perpetuated by the current system.
Moreover, the rise of social media as a platform for storytelling and advocacy presents an opportunity for those who have been marginalized to reclaim their narratives and foster solidarity across borders. As Garcia and Hernández-Corona gain followers and build communities online, they are not only sharing their personal journeys but are also contributing to a larger dialogue about immigration, identity, and resilience. This digital activism can serve as a counter-narrative to the often dehumanizing representations of immigrants in mainstream media. By amplifying their voices, we can encourage a collective understanding of the complexities surrounding immigration, emphasizing the need for empathy and systemic change.
In conclusion, the experiences of deported social media influencers illustrate the profound impact of immigration policies on individual lives and communities. Their narratives challenge simplistic notions of immigration and highlight the need for a more compassionate approach that recognizes the humanity of those affected. As we engage in conversations about immigration, it is crucial to center the voices of those who have lived these realities, advocating for justice and reform that honors their struggles and contributions. By doing so, we can work towards a future that embraces diversity and prioritizes the well-being of all individuals, regardless of their immigration status.
The plight of deported social media influencers, as highlighted in the recent article, serves as a poignant reminder of the complex emotional and social realities faced by many who are forcibly removed from the United States. Figures like Annie Garcia and Francisco Hernández-Corona illustrate how individuals are navigating the tumultuous waters of identity, belonging, and resilience in the wake of deportation. With over 70,000 Mexican nationals deported in just the first half of 2025, it is crucial to understand the broader historical and political context that has led to this ongoing crisis and how individuals can mobilize to address these injustices.
Historically, the U.S. has maintained a fraught relationship with immigration, marked by cycles of exclusion and inclusion that reflect broader societal attitudes toward race, labor, and nationality. The era of mass deportations, particularly under the Trump administration, marked a significant shift towards aggressive enforcement policies that disproportionately affected communities of color and immigrant populations. This political climate has not only resulted in the separation of families and the dismantling of lives built over decades but has also led to the emergence of new narratives, as deportees like Garcia and Hernández-Corona leverage social media to share their experiences. By utilizing platforms that can reach vast audiences, these individuals challenge the dominant narratives surrounding immigration and deportation, shifting the focus from shame and stigma to resilience and authenticity.
In light of the challenges faced by deported individuals, it is essential for Americans to engage in meaningful action that advocates for immigrant rights and challenges punitive immigration policies. One avenue for change is to support organizations that provide legal assistance to immigrants, ensuring that they have the resources necessary to navigate the complex immigration system. Additionally, grassroots campaigns aimed at changing local and national immigration laws can empower communities to take a stand against injustice. By participating in these movements—whether through protests, letter-writing campaigns, or donations—Americans can amplify the voices of those affected by deportation and contribute to a larger narrative advocating for humane immigration policies.
Moreover, there is a significant educational component to this issue that can empower individuals to engage in informed discussions with those who may hold opposing views. By sharing the stories of deported individuals and highlighting the often-overlooked emotional and psychological toll of deportation, advocates can foster empathy and understanding. This approach can counteract the fear-based rhetoric often employed by anti-immigrant factions. Encouraging conversations that emphasize shared humanity over political differences can help bridge divides and promote a more compassionate discourse around immigration.
Finally, it is vital to recognize that the experiences of deportees are not isolated incidents but part of a larger systemic issue that requires comprehensive reform. Advocating for policies that center on pathways to citizenship, protections for refugee and asylum seekers, and the dismantling of punitive measures like detention centers is crucial. Individuals can work toward supporting candidates and initiatives that prioritize these reforms at local, state, and federal levels. By uniting efforts to dismantle the systems that perpetuate inequality and injustice, we can collectively work towards a future where individuals like Garcia and Hernández-Corona can thrive, free from the specter of deportation and the heartbreak that accompanies it.
In conclusion, the narratives of deported social media influencers offer a vital lens into the complexities of immigration in the United States. By understanding the historical and political contexts that shape these experiences, engaging in advocacy, and fostering open dialogue, we can challenge the status quo and work towards a more just and equitable society. As Americans, it is our responsibility to stand in solidarity with those affected by deportation and to use our voices, resources, and actions to advocate for a future where everyone has the opportunity to belong and thrive.
The experiences of individuals like Annie Garcia and others who have been deported from the United States highlight critical social and political issues surrounding immigration, human rights, and the need for systemic reform. Here are several actionable ideas for how we can personally engage with these issues, support affected individuals, and advocate for change.
### What Can We Personally Do About This?
#### 1. **Raise Awareness** - **Social Media Campaigns**: Share stories and content from deported influencers to highlight their experiences and challenges. Use hashtags like #LifeAfterDeportation to raise visibility. - **Host Discussions**: Organize local community events or online webinars to discuss the realities of deportation and immigration policies.
#### 2. **Advocate for Policy Change** - **Support Immigration Reform**: Advocate for comprehensive immigration reform that addresses the root causes of deportation and provides pathways to citizenship for undocumented individuals. - **Demand Accountability**: Write to legislators to hold them accountable for their voting records on immigration issues.
#### 3. **Support Non-Profit Organizations** - **Donate or Volunteer**: Contribute to organizations that assist deported individuals, such as the **United We Dream** (email: info@unitedwedream.org) or **The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)** (donate at aclu.org/donate). - **Participate in Fundraisers**: Organize or join fundraising efforts for organizations providing legal assistance, housing, or counseling for deportees.
### Exact Actions We Can Take
#### 1. **Petition for Change** - **Create or Sign Petitions**: Use platforms like Change.org to create or sign petitions demanding humane immigration policies. For example, petitioning for the repeal of laws that facilitate mass deportation. - **Example Petition**: “Stop the Mass Deportation of Families” – create a petition that highlights the emotional and social impact of deportation.
#### 2. **Write to Elected Officials** - **Who to Contact**: - **Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA)**: Email: senator@padilla.senate.gov | Mailing Address: 112 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510 - **Representative Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL)**: Email: maria.salazar@mail.house.gov | Mailing Address: 1200 Coral Way, Suite 103, Miami, FL 33145 - **What to Say**: Write letters expressing support for fair immigration policies, emphasizing the human stories behind deportations. Use personal anecdotes or stories of individuals to illustrate the impact of current policies.
#### 3. **Engage in Local Advocacy** - **Attend Town Hall Meetings**: Engage with local representatives and voice your concerns regarding deportation policies and immigrant rights. - **Join Local Advocacy Groups**: Find local immigrant rights organizations and participate in their campaigns. Examples include **The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)** (website: chirla.org) or **Families for Freedom** (website: familiesforfreedom.org).
#### 4. **Educate Yourself and Others** - **Workshops and Training**: Attend workshops on immigration rights and advocacy to better understand the issues and effective strategies for engagement. - **Share Resources**: Create or distribute informational pamphlets that outline the rights of immigrants and resources available to them.
### Conclusion
The stories of deportees like Annie Garcia are not just individual narratives; they reflect a larger systemic issue that requires collective action. By raising awareness, advocating for policy changes, supporting organizations, and directly engaging with our elected officials, we can contribute to a more just and humane approach to immigration. Each of these actions, whether it be signing a petition, writing a letter, or joining a community event, plays a crucial role in changing the conversation around deportation and supporting those affected.