Deported veterans want to return to U.S.

They served their country and made what many Americans consider to be a significant sacrifice by joining the armed forces.

After their discharge, they might expect medical care and a stable future in the United States. But when veterans who are not U.S. citizens run afoul of the law, they can face a serious consequence that deprives them of both: deportation.

The situation for these deported veterans, many of whom are living in Tijuana, raises a legal and moral conundrum, say their advocates. Should noncitizen veterans who commit crimes be deported, despite putting their lives at risk for U.S. interests, or does their military service give them a permit to stay? And what severity of offenses should be punishable with deportation?

The circumstances that lead to deportation are typically varied. In a few cases, people were in the country illegally before enlisting, but the vast majority had permanent residence. Some committed crimes as teenagers or young men, and others encountered troubles after their discharge. Crimes that can lead to deportation under federal law include drug trafficking, murder and drunken driving, among a long list.

It is impossible to know the exact number of deported veterans, because federal agencies do not track which deportees have served in the military.

Representatives of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Diego, as well as the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, and two congressional committees in Washington said they don’t keep track or didn’t respond to requests for information.

According to the federal government, any veteran who is told the leave the U.S. has committed a serious crime.

In a statement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said deportations of veterans go through several steps of review: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is very deliberate in its review of cases involving veterans. Any action taken by ICE that may result in the removal of an alien with prior military service must be authorized by the senior leadership in an ICE field office, to include an evaluation by local counsel.”

According to a report by American Progress, which calls itself a nonpartisan educational institute, more than 710,000 immigrants were naturalized through military service between 1907 and 2010. The report cited a statistic from the Department of Defense that 24,000 noncitizen immigrants served in the military in 2012.

Hector Barajas, a deported veteran in Tijuana, said many veterans think they are citizens, because military recruiters promise citizenship to permanent residents, and the oath of enlistment is similar to the oath of naturalization.

“You’re a citizen if you served,” is a common misconception among his noncitizen veteran acquaintances, he said.

Willie Hager, who served two tours in Vietnam with the Marine Corps, said the plight of deported veterans is a symptom of a broader disregard for former service members.

“It’s an extension of what happened to us with Vietnam. We came back and nobody wanted anything to do with us. And we had to fight for every single thing that we had,” Hager said.

Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs is much more helpful than previously, Hager said. Still, he believes that veterans who are deported miss out on care that is their due.