Ex-Bravo star Joe Giudice wants to come home.
On Thursday, the former Real Housewives of New Jersey personality took to social media to issue a personal plea to President Donald Trump to be allowed to return to the United States.
Joe Giudice wants to visit his four daughters
Joe was deported to Italy in 2019 after he finished serving nearly four years in prison on federal fraud charges. He later moved to the Bahamas so that he could be closer to his family, including his four daughters.
Now, Joe is hoping that the president will intervene and allow him to return to the U.S.
“I’m Joe Giudice. I served my time, and I’ve been deported from the U.S. for nearly a decade,” he wrote on Instagram.
“I was raised in Jersey, I’m a father of four amazing daughters, and I just want to be allowed to visit them again,” Joe continued. “President Trump, I respect you and I’m asking for a second chance.”
Joe tagged Donald Trump and Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., in the post. He also added the hashtags #PardonJoeGiudice and #Trump2024. His former wife, RHONJ’s Teresa Giudice, reacted with praying hands and a heart.
Why was the ‘RHONJ’ star deported?
Although Joe lived most of his life in New Jersey, he was born in Italy and never became a U.S. citizen. After he finished his 41-month prison sentence in 2018, the federal government began deportation proceedings because of his felony conviction. While he fought the deportation, he was eventually forced to leave the country.
Joe’s plea for a second chance comes not long after the president pardoned two other reality TV stars. Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were serving time on fraud and tax evasion charges, were recently released from prison after Trump intervened. Their pardon came after their daughter Savannah Chrisley spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention and lobbied influential figures on her parents’ behalf.
Joe’s case is seemingly more complicated than the Chrisleys’, particularly given the Trump administration’s hostility to immigration and focus on ramping up the rate of deportations.
“What’s the difference between him and all the other illegals with families in America, being deported who AREN’T convicted felons??” one person commented on Joe’s post.
“I feel for your girls,” another person wrote. “But families are being ripped apart here. Most of these people have been here for years and never ever committed a crime.”
Joe does have some people in his corner, however, including former RHONJ cast member Siggy Flicker. Earlier this year, Trump appointed her to the board of the U.S. Holocaust Museum.
“I’m trying,” Flicker commented. “Joe should be back home with his beautiful daughters!!!!!!”
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