At first, Sandra Campos hesitated about joining the TikTok trend taking over her feed. In the five years since immigration officers had dropped her off at the Mexican border, she had chosen to keep her life-altering deportation story off of her social media page, fearing rejection.
But as deportation videos multiplied across social media platforms under President Donald Trump’s second administration, she found that deportees, like herself, were picking up their phones and telling their side of the story. In May, she joined the trend with a playful, 6-second clip.
In the video, Campos whips her long hair in disbelief. The on-screen text reads: “When you get deported after living in the U.S. for 20+ years and barely know Spanish.”
To her surprise, the response was massive. The video quickly went viral, racking up more than 14 million views and 12,000 comments. While some messages were negative, most were supportive, wishing her luck or sharing that their own loved ones had been deported, too.
“I was a little skeptical at first about talking about my deportation on my page. But after I saw that it was well received, my doubts went away.”
Sandra Campos
“I was a little skeptical at first about talking about my deportation on my page,” 28-year-old Campos told Refinery29 Somos during a video call from Guanajuato, a colorful city nestled in the mountains of central Mexico. “But after I saw that it was well received, my doubts went away.”
Campos is part of a growing wave of deportees using TikTok to reclaim their stories and shed light on a side of immigration rarely seen: what happens after deportation. Through hashtags such as #LifeAfterDeportation, creators share clips about finding work, struggling with Spanish, enrolling their kids in school, and other challenges of rebuilding a life in an unfamiliar place.
“ When I got deported, it wasn’t really big,” said Campos. “Now, everybody’s talking about it.”
For Campos, who was deported in 2020 under the first Trump administration, opening up about such a traumatic event wasn’t easy. “I feel like I was a bit embarrassed about what happened,” she explained. That year, police stopped her for a traffic violation and handed her over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Despite qualifying for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the program that allows for deportation protection and work permits for immigrants who were brought over as children, Campos said that her lawyer had advised her not to renew her permit, which she now regrets. Although Campos fought her case, she was deported to Mexico after having lived in Missouri since the age of two.
“I didn’t realize that so many people are going through the same things I went through about not being able to speak Spanish, coming to a whole new place and not knowing what to do.”
Sandra Campos
“Thinking about it now is just crazy, but I hated my life so much [after deportation],” Campos said. “I missed everything about the U.S. I didn’t wanna be here for another minute.”
After spending almost a year with distant relatives in Mexico City, she moved to Guanajuato, found a job as a server, and pursued social media more seriously. Earlier this year, she discovered that what people most resonated with on TikTok was her deportation story. Since her first post in May, she has gained 23,000 followers and received an outpouring of support.
“They say things like, ‘I’m really glad you put your story out there.’ And I’m like, ‘Dang!’ I didn’t realize that so many people are going through the same things I went through about not being able to speak Spanish, coming to a whole new place and not knowing what to do,” she said.
Anna Garcia, a 35-year-old mother of five, knows that feeling well. In 2018, she was arrested at a custody hearing in Utah and deported to Mexico, with $40 in her pocket. Forced to restart her life far from her children felt “like a death sentence,” she told Somos. “I felt like my life was over.”
But over the next year, she pieced her life together in Puerto Vallarta, a city on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, with the goal of regaining custody of her kids. She began documenting her journey on TikTok, gaining half a million followers and becoming a prominent voice for deportees.
“It helps people realize that what they’re feeling — fear, anger, grief — is shared by others, which normalizes those emotions.”
Denise Serrato
One of her most viral videos captures her reunion with her kids, with a teary-eyed Garcia embracing her children in the Puerto Vallarta International Airport. It’s a moment that might have otherwise gone unnoticed offline, but on TikTok, it allowed for thousands of followers to hold space for her.
One user responded: “So happy for you…I wish you and your babies the best!”
Another said: “My kid’s dad got deported when they were 2 and 6 mo. They are now 6 & 8. I pray they get to reunite with their father one day.”
Denise Serrato, a mental health clinician who often works with immigrant clients, says it’s unsurprising that people who have been affected by deportation are connecting with these stories. “When someone sees deportation stories online, it can trigger a sense of ‘I’m not alone.’ Social media gives visibility to experiences that are often silenced or stigmatized,” she said.
“It helps people realize that what they’re feeling — fear, anger, grief — is shared by others, which normalizes those emotions,” she added.
“I want my content to embody that there is life — and a lot of it — after deportation.”
Anna Garcia
While Garcia has used the #LifeAfterDeportation hashtag for years, she said that interest has picked up in recent months as more deportations make headlines and anti-immigrant rhetoric intensifies. “ I’ve seen a huge influx of the same type of content,” she said.
For Garcia, who experienced backlash when she first shared her story, seeing more deportation stories online feels like a breakthrough. “It was kind of shameful back then. I have seen a lot of people more comfortable with talking about it now and being empathetic hearing these stories.”
Garcia said that some followers are also reaching out seeking legal advice for loved ones facing deportation. While she tries to offer individual support, she now shares videos offering useful resources for deportees, such as how to access immigration records from the U.S. government or how to seek assistance from Mexican authorities following deportation.
Wanting to help immigrants has motivated Garcia to pursue her dream of becoming an attorney. In August, she posted a video celebrating the completion of her first year as a law student. The text read: “Watch me turn pain into purpose and grow into a law student in my home country.”
Her message, she said, is simple: life doesn’t end with deportation.
“I want my content to embody that there is life — and a lot of it — after deportation.”
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