Famous People Who Fought Immigration Battles, From John Lennon to Charlie Chaplin

June 26, 2012 -- intro: The DREAMers aren't the only ones who have feared being deported from the United States. Check out some famous people who have had their battles with American immigration authorities.

quicklist: 1title: John Lennon and Yoko Onotext: In an interview with ABC News' Jonathan Karl, Yoko Ono told how she and her husband, the former Beatle John Lennon, were served with deportation papers early one morning in March 1972. After the couple refused to open their door, officers slipped the notice under the door to them. Ono's reaction, she said, was, "What are we going to do? You know, it was really frightening."

The couple was served the deportation order because U.S. officials said Lennon had been allowed into the country improperly. He had been charged with possession of marijuana in London in 1968, and U.S. law said no one with a criminal record was allowed to come live in the country.

A number of famous names put pen to paper, writing letters to President Nixon to try to convince him to allow Lennon and his artist wife to stay in New York.

Nixon, who didn't particularly like the outspoken anti-war activist couple -- they had campaigned against his reelection -- was not swayed. In 1973, Lennon was given 60 days to leave the U.S. Ono was granted permanent residence.

Watergate, however, intervened. Nixon's successor, Gerald Ford, wasn't interested in continuing a political battle with Lennon. In October 1975, a three-judge panel ruled that the possession charge was insufficient to keep Lennon out of the country. Lennon was awarded a green card in 1976.

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quicklist: 2title: Cat Stevens text: The British singer Yusuf Islam, formerly known by his stage name, Cat Stevens, was barred from entering the United States in 2004. The singer was placed on the U.S. government's "no fly" list and taken off a flight from London to Washington because of suspicions that he was associated with potential terrorists.

His flight, on a United Airlines Boeing 747, was diverted to Bangor, Maine, where he was detained by FBI agents.

Islam said, "Everybody knows who I am. I am no secret figure. Everybody knows my campaigning for charity, for peace. There's got to be a whole lot of explanation."

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quicklist: 3title: Charlie Chaplintext: Charlie Chaplin, perhaps the most beloved of comic actors from the silent film era, ran afoul of American politicians -- and immigration authorities -- after World War II, when he satirized anti-communist fears in the United States during the Cold War.

A 1949 Associated Press story says that in May of 1949, Sen. Harry Cain (R-Wash.) demanded that Chaplin, a native of England, be deported, and accused him of coming "perilously close to treason" against the United States.

Cain cited a telegram sent by Chaplin to the French artist Pablo Picasso concerning the deportation of German composer Hanns Eisler. The message read, "Can you head committee of French artists to protest the American Embassy in Paris the outrageous deportation proceedings against Hanns Eisler here and simultaneously send me a copy of protest for use here. Greetings!"

In 1952, Chaplin returned to England for the premiere of his film, "Limelight," and learned that his re-entry permit request was denied. Chaplin died on Christmas 1977, never having returned to the United States.

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quicklist: 4title: Jose Antonio Vargastext: Jose Antonio Vargas, a reporter whose coverage of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre who a Pulitzer Prize, admitted to ABC's Dan Harris that he is an illegal immigrant. A native of the Philippines, Vargas came to the U.S. alone at age 12 to live with his grandparents. He admits to having broken laws to conceal his undocumented identity. He also said he obtained various documents under false pretenses, including a falsified Social Security card and an Oregon driver's license.