Registration

Event Description

Our first meeting of the year will focus on deported veterans and veterans with immigration and citizenship barriers. An expert and esteemed panel of speakers will share: (1) background and history about this problem; (2) the personal and lived experience of deportation and repatriation as a veteran; (3) the current response and ways that community partners are addressing this issue, through direct legal representation, organizing, social services and mental health support, and national policy and legislative solutions. Panelists will also provide their insights about how philanthropic funders can best support and engage with this important issue impacting thousands of U.S. military veterans.  

This meeting is open to current SCG members. If you have any questions please contact Jessica LeTarte. 

About the SCG Veteran Funders Group

The SCG Veteran Funders Group focuses on members’ response efforts in relation to veterans and military families, trends and challenges our nonprofit partners are facing, and opportunities for philanthropy to take a strategic role in our region’s veteran space in the months and years to come. 

Speakers

Middle-aged, latino male in US Army uniform with a red beret in front of an American flag

Hector Barajas-Varela

Army Veteran, Director and Founder, Deported Veterans Support House

Mr. Barajas-Varela was born in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, Mexico in 1977. He moved with his family to the U.S. at the age of seven and grew up in Compton, California. He became a lawful permanent resident (LPR) in 1992. Mr. Barajas-Varela enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1995 after graduating high school. He arrived in Fort Bragg and soon volunteered for Airborne School, serving in the 82nd Airborne from 1996 to 1999. He re-enlisted and served until his Honorable Discharge in 2001. Mr. Barajas-Varela was deported in 2004 after serving a prison sentence in the state of California. He returned to the U.S. that same year and started a family, but was deported in 2009 for a traffic violation. Mr. Barajas-Varela founded the Deported Veterans Support House in Tijuana in 2013, where he worked to provide support for deported veterans like himself. Since its inception, the Deported Veterans Support House has connected with hundreds of deported veterans or veterans facing deportation who served in the U.S. military. Mr. Barajas-Varela was granted a full pardon by Governor Jerry Brown of California in 2017. He returned to America and became a U.S. citizen on April 13, 2018.
Light brown skinned woman, with straight brown hair and slightly smiling

Danitza James

Chief Executive Officer, Repatriate Our Patriots

Danitza “Dee” James, M.S.W., embodies the journey of resilience and service marked by dedication and determination. Arriving in Yuma, Arizona, at sixteen from Sonora, Mexico, Dee's journey took a pivotal turn when she
enlisted in the U.S. Army in June 2001, just before the events of 9/11. Over six years of active duty, including two combat tours in Iraq, she served with distinction as a heavy wheeled vehicle operator and convoy security team leader, navigating missions through the challenging Zuni triangle in Iraq. Upon transitioning from military service, Dee's commitment to her fellow servicemembers and their families remained steadfast. Dee has over 15 years of experience working with servicemembers, military families, wounded veterans and families of the fallen in the non-profit and federal government sector. Dee currently serves with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) as the Chair for the Subcommittee on Deported Veterans. Her advocacy extends to various critical areas, including Human Rights Advocacy, Mental Health, Repatriation of Veterans, Suicide Prevention, and Sexual Assault & Harassment Prevention. Dee's impact is felt not only in her direct service but also through her instrumental role in legislative efforts. Her advocacy contributed to the passing of The Brandon Caserta Act and the introduction of key articles in the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act, reshaping how the military addresses cases of sexual assault and harassment. Dee continues to champion causes that uplift and protect the military community while embodying the spirit of resilience and service.
Smiling white woman, with shoulder length straight brown hair, rosy cheeks and red lipstick, wearing a blue denim jacket and a gold necklace

Jennie Pasquarella

Legal Director, Seattle Clemency Project

Jennie Pasquarella is the Legal Director at the Seattle Clemency Project. She joined SCP in 2024. Prior to SCP, she worked for 16 years for the ACLU and the ACLU of Southern California, where she led and directed the organization's immigrants' rights project.
Light skinned woman with blonde hair and red lipstick, wearing a black and white checked shirt in front of a greenery background

Amanda Schuft

Legal Services Director, Deported Veterans Project, Immigrant Defenders Law Center

Amanda Schuft is a Legal Services Director with Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) in Los Angeles overseeing the Adult Representation Program, including ImmDef’s Deported Veterans Program, Post-Conviction Relief Program, National Qualified Representatives Program, Community Defense Program and Cross Border Initiative. Amanda is one of ImmDef’s founding staff members and was one of the first attorneys hired when ImmDef opened its doors. Throughout her time with ImmDef, Amanda has focused on the intersection of immigration and criminal law. She is an advocate for the expansion of pro bono representation in ICE detention facilities. Prior to working with ImmDef, Amanda represented unaccompanied minors at Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project. Prior to law school, Amanda worked as a youth program coordinator in Portland, Oregon for a housing development nonprofit, and as a fourth-grade teacher in Honduras. She is a graduate of Lewis & Clark College and the University of Oregon School of Law.

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