Since January, more than 130,000 Mexicans have been deported from the United States—overwhelmed by loss, trauma, and fear, and cut off from community and family. The lack of a government integration policy or program leaves deported Mexicans to fend for themselves without help or support.

In the current hostile environment, nonprofit organizations like The Rhizome Center for Migrants are left to fill in where governments fail by providing immediate crisis relief, free legal aid, and the tools to start over with dignity. The Rhizome Center for Migrants stands at the crossroads, offering hope when all else is lost, bridging families torn apart, and serving as a lifeline so that no one has to face deportation alone.

Our U.S. post-deportation legal aid clinic provides pro bono legal aid services, and our humanitarian presence in the interior of Mexico is critical as deported Mexicans return with heightened mental health issues after prolonged forced and increasing illegal detention, including to third countries like South Sudan.

How we serve:
This year, we have focused our efforts on urgent crisis response and vital mental health support. For individuals and families arriving today, the Rhizome Center offers a lifeline connecting them to essential documents, services, and stability.

— Our crisis response team links newcomers to housing support and immediate job opportunities.
— For the most vulnerable, we provide “new home kits” so individuals and families can start over with dignity.
— Our Raíces de Regreso: Tejido de Vuelta program offers a compassionate group setting for healing and recovery that meets people where they are.
— We intervene in cases in which the Mexican government has refused to issue identification, leaving its citizens, or their U.S.-born family members, undocumented and prone to kidnapping, extortion, exploitation, and abuse.

Year-round, our legal team reunites families, secures legal status, and helps people access benefits they have earned, including disability and veterans benefits. We believe that justice does not end at the border, and we continue to advocate for the rights of the deported because it is our moral responsibility to do so.

— We help eligible clients apply for citizenship so they can return as U.S. citizens, even after their deportation.
— We help eligible clients apply for humanitarian relief to reunite parents and caretakers with their loved ones.
— Our clients who qualify have been able to restore their green card status preserving their ability to remain in the United States.
— In every case, we lift up the humanity and dignity of each of our clients.

How you can help:
Every donation affirms the humanity of people uprooted from their communities, families, and home. By supporting the Rhizome Center, you uphold justice, directly fund legal pathways, and connect the deported with essential resources and community that restore their dignity.

About us:
The Rhizome Center for Migrants is a 501(c)(3) U.S. nonprofit operating in Western Central Mexico. Our mission is to support and defend forcibly displaced people and families at risk—offering legal aid and reintegration services through our Mexico Project in Guadalajara, Jalisco.

We are proud to hold the Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid (formerly Guidestar). For more on our impact, visit our Candid profile or head over to our Instagram page for on-the-ground updates.

Support Legal Aid & Recovery for the Deported

No one should face deportation alone.

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