Home

The United States has more immigrants than any other country in the world. Today, more than 40 million people living in the U.S. were born in another country, accounting for about one-fifth of the world’s migrants.

The population of immigrants is also very diverse, with just about every country in the world represented among U.S. immigrants. However, due to unawareness of new customs,  norms and access to resources during initial resettlement in the United States,  some immigrants and migrants on the Hit or Missed approach, some end up in situations leading to deportation.

Deportation rate among Caribbean immigrants accounts for a substantial percentage of Green Card Holders compared to other global region. Deportation is not just the individual problem, it affect the family as a whole, it destabilizes families leading to financial, housing, emotional insecurities of the extended family.

Deportation is a symptom with preventable causes.  The United Immigrants and Migrants Assimilation Project was established to guide and support documented immigrants like AJ in making the right choices, while maintaining legal status and decreasing the rate of unnecessary deportation.

United Immigrants and Migrants Assimilation Project (UIMAProject) Inc is a non-profit organization based in Brooklyn, New York, United States. The organization provides resettlement guided programs, related services aimed at providing documented and recently arrived immigrants and migrants to make informed decisions to successfully integrate and support their new communities in the USA.

We aim to provide services to Caribbean immigrants during and post immigration, all individuals may benefit from our programs are welcome all to participate. We connect immigrants and migrants with resources and also conduct Awareness Workshops on education to job opportunities, rights, and responsibilities, connections to increase access to housing, healthcare, and immigration resources.

Our plans will include housing homeless returning residents (deported) who are ready and able to work on re-establishing themselves in their new home. UIMAProject serves the international communities by providing immigrants, migrants, and involuntary returnees with the necessary tools to successfully adapt to their new communities.

We foster International Organization for Migration (IOM’s) post-arrival awareness orientation training goals as it supports our mission. IOM supports migrants across the world, developing effective responses to the shifting dynamics of migration and, as such, is a key source of advice on migration policy and practice. The organization works in emergencies, developing the resilience of all people on the move, particularly those in situations of vulnerability, as well as building capacity within governments to manage all forms and impacts of mobility.

Dorothea Orem, empowering individuals through guidance and education, while the individual performs the actual task the act of assisting themselves when their health needs exceeds their ability to care for themselves.

Conceptualized:

A.J immigrated to the USA from Jamaica when he was 10 years of age to live with his parents. He grew up in the Queens, New York in the United States of America with his immediate family consisting of mother, father, sisters and brother. He dropped out of school, and became entangled
with the law. As a teenager, his behavior conflicted with his parents’ rules and he was locked out of the home and he became homeless. He began staying with friends, then he started selling drugs for drug dealers. He had a two year old child who lived with mother and maternal grand-parents, and he provided for the child.

At the age of twenty-nine, he was involuntarily returned to his birth country (Jamaica) for the first time since the age of ten. Upon his return to Jamaica, he was received by his aunt who he didn’t remember. His aunt, even though willing to assist him, was also financially limited herself and expected that money would follow him from the United States, but that rarely happened. Therefore, his welcome ran out, and he was asked to leave. He lived with other family members.  A relative committed a crime in his presence such as stealing and tried to blame it on him. A.J was not a thief, a police officer advised him to leave those relatives. He lived in different places unlike what he was used to in the USA.
His parents, and siblings were heartbroken when A.J was removed from the United States involuntarily. It was a shock to everyone when A.J was deported, they didn’t know that a Green Card Holder could have been deported. 

A.J while living in Jamaica was often mocked, teased about his status. Without a place to call home nor having regular meals were his daily challenges. Upon his parents visiting Jamaica and realizing that he was homeless, AJ’s parents made a downpayment on a plot of land, and built a single room for A.J to live.

Having a permanent home quickly improved A.J’s stability and living condition. He initially bought and resold items to make a living. He became an entrepreneur in the restaurant industry serving delicious food in his unique style. He admitted that having a home gave him a foundation to start his life over on the right path. AJ often reminisces on his life’s journey, the life he left in the USA including being separated
from his two year old daughter, first love, parents and siblings.

A.J admits that his behavior warranted punishment but, after doing his time in jail, his punishment continued without an ending.

AJ often wished that he knew about having a Green Card was a privilege with conditions that violation would result in it being taken away, then removed from the country that he really called home (deported).  A.J believes that he would have listened more to his parents more than his classmates who he followed down the wrong path.

A.J’s story inspired us to start United Immigrants and Migrants Assimilation Project, Inc, based on the identified needs for documented immigrants and migrants to be aware of their roles and responsibilities whether they are traveling abroad to live permanently or just work then returning home. 

Angela Beeson, is the leading director of this initiative.  She has more than 25 years of experience in the service industry implementing Self-Care Deficit Theory as described by Dorothea Orem, empowering individuals through guidance and education. 

Guided by the IOM statement and Dorothea Orem’s Theory, we are approaching the Missed resettlement of documented immigrants as a condition requiring guidance for sustainable resolution. Therefore, avoiding the Missed in the Hit or Missed approach to resettlement. Empowering individuals with knowledge and skills can decrease risk of immigrants being involuntarily returned in the future (deported).