Organized Communities Against Deportation is a Chicago-based left-of-center advocacy organization that opposes the deportation of migrants while supporting open border policies. According to its website, the group advocates for, “a future without displacement and borders, without incarceration, and without deportations. A future where people can choose to stay or migrate freely. A future where our bodies will not be commodified or exploited to fulfill quotas, to fill cages, or be used to generate profit.” ¹

Background

In January 2021, Organized Communities Against Deportation was founded by immigration activists associated with the Immigrant Youth Justice League, including Tania Unzueta and Antonio Gutierrez, as a charitable nonprofit organization in Chicago, Illinois. ^{2 3 4}

The organization focuses on efforts to stop, reverse, or contest the deportation of illegal immigrants in Chicago and its surrounding areas in Illinois. Additionally, the organization advocates “a future where people can choose to stay or migrate freely” and  “a future where our bodies will not be commodified or exploited to fulfill quotas, to fill cages, or be used to generate profit.” ¹

Activities

As of February 2025, the organization’s featured campaigns include one for the elimination of a gang database used by the Chicago Police Department and the federal government to identify individuals as part of law and immigration enforcement activities and another to broaden the “sanctuary” protections offered by the City of Chicago per the Welcoming City Ordinance of Chicago as well as redirect funds from city law enforcement to civic and community service programs. ¹

Additionally, the organization maintains several “individual campaigns” urging aligned activists to sign petitions in support of various individuals who have been detained or deported by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ¹

Funding

On its website, the Organized Communities Against Deportation lists several nonprofit foundations have helped the organization to “grow,” including the Crossroads Fund, Woods Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Borealis Immigration Litigation Fund, Field Foundation of Chicago, Lush Charity, PotPolk Brothers Foundation, and Public Welfare Foundation. ¹

Leadership

Tania Unzueta is a cofounder of Organized Communities Against Deportation and the president of its board of directors, as well as the political director of Mijente, a left-of-center activist group claiming to represent members of the Latino community within the United States. Earlier in her career, Unzueta, who immigrated without legal authorization to the United States with her parents as a child from Mexico City, became involved in immigration activism as a volunteer for a student campaign supporting the proposed DREAM Act. Later, she cofounded the Immigrant Youth Justice League and worked on several political campaigns, including the Not One More campaign, now-U.S. Rep. Jesus Garcia’s (D-IL) 2015 mayoral campaign in Chicago, and former Georgia State Rep. Stacey Abrams’s (D) gubernatorial campaign in Georgia. ^{3 5}

Antonio Guiterrez, who immigrated to the United States without legal authorization, is a cofounder and the strategic coordinator for Organized Communities Against Deportation as well as a special project liaison consultant for Beyond Legal Aid. Previously, Guiterrez worked at the latter organization, first as a program administrator, and then director of community partnerships and organizational operations. Additionally, Guiterrez is a former cofounder and organizer of groups including the Albany Park Defense Network, La Guayabita Autonoma Community Garden, and the Autonomous Tenants Union. ^{4 5}

Barbara Ransby is the vice president of Organized Communities Against Deportation’s board of directors as well as the John D. MacArthur chair and distinguished professor in the Departments of Black Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, and History at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she also directs the Social Justice Initiative, a campus project that promotes networking between academics and aligned activists. ^{6 5}

1. “About Us.” Organized Communities Against Deportation. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://www.organizedcommunities.org/about
2. “Organized Communities Against Deportations.” ProPublica. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/820840451
3. Wasserman, Melissa. “TANIA UNZUETA: Fighting for justice, one cause at a time.” Windy City Times. March 4, 2021. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://windycitytimes.com/2021/03/04/tania-unzueta-fighting-for-justice-one-cause-at-a-time/
4. “Antonio Guiterrez.” Beyond Legal Aid. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://www.beyondlegalaid.org/staff/agutierrez-7jpt3-fk8rz
5. Organized Communities Against Deportations. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax. (Form 990), 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/820840451/202340869349301254/full
6. “Barbara Ransby, PhD.” University of Illinio Chicago. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://hist.uic.edu/profiles/ransby-barbara/