Joe Giudice Asks Trump for Presidential Pardon and Ability to Return to the U.S. 6 Years After He Was Deported

Joe Giudice has a plea for President Donald Trump. 

The 53-year-old reality star, who was born in Italy but grew up in the U.S., is hoping the president, 79, can reunite him with his daughters by granting him a pardon.

“I’m Joe Giudice. I served my time, and I’ve been deported from the U.S. for nearly a decade,” the former Real Housewives of New Jersey cast member began as the caption to an Instagram post on Thursday, June 26.

He continued, “I was raised in Jersey, I’m a father of four amazing daughters, and I just want to be allowed to visit them again.”

Giudice shares daughters Gia, Gabriella, Audriana and Milania with his ex-wife Teresa Giudice. All four of his girls appeared with him in the Instagram carousel, smiling and posing together for different photographs throughout the years. 

“President Trump, I respect you and I’m asking for a second chance,” Joe concluded.

Joe tagged both the president and Donald Trump Jr. in the post.

“If he can pardon the chrisleys he can pardon JOE!!!! ❤️❤️,” one person commented, referring to Chrisley Knows Best stars Todd Chrisley and his wife Julie Chrisley receiving presidential pardons from Trump.

Teresa showed her support for Joe, writing, “🙏❤️.”

Joe and Teresa, 53, were indicted on federal fraud charges in 2013 and took turns serving time in prison. 

Teresa began with an 11-month jail sentence before Joe served 41 months and was later deported to his native Italy in 2019. Since then, he has relocated to the Bahamas.

In May 2019, during Trump’s first term as president, a source told PEOPLE that a pardon for Joe was not on Trump’s radar. 

“This has not reached the White House,” the source said.

“If it was worth it on the merits, this would be something, but just because [the Giudice family] is asking,” the source continued, adding, “Thousands of people have through different means tried to bring different cases. The vast majority of them just don’t warrant the decision.”

Earlier this year, Joe revisited the possibility of Trump helping him with a pardon after Trump’s reelection.

“I got a lawyer working on something, but she’s been working on it. Hasn’t done anything yet. So I don’t know. We’ll see,” Joe told Teresa during a January episode of her Turning The Tables podcast of his attempts to achieve American citizenship.

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“I did get in front of the embassy and they denied me because I guess I’m a big criminal,” he added, saying the process took “not even five minutes.”

Later in their conversation, he added, “When I met Trump, I mean, he was very nice to me. I was very nice to him when we were on his show over there. I don’t know. I mean, I think he should get me back.”