(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . 'I never thought this day would come': Deported veterans return home, win U.S. citizenship [1] ['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-02-15 “After my deportation, yeah, I never thought this day would come,” Hernandez told the AP. He received his naturalization certificate during a special ceremony in San Diego on Feb. 8. “It’s definitely been a long road. I’m glad that we were given a second chance as anybody that is either American-born or fought for America should have.” Leonel Contreras enlisted in the U.S. military when he was just 17. Now 63, he also received his naturalization certificate after returning from Mexico following his deportation a decade ago. He was swept up by federal agents at the barbershop where he worked. While immigrant service members are eligible for an expedited path to U.S. citizenship, it is not automatic, something many may not know. They can be subject to deportation following certain criminal convictions, even in cases where mental and physical health issues are developed as a result of their military service. Because of sloppy record-keeping by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), it’s unknown “exactly how many veterans have been placed in removal proceedings or removed,” the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said in a 2019 report. Contreras “continued to work in Tijuana as a barber and found work because of his English at call centers helping answer questions from customers of U.S. companies. But it was not easy,” the AP said. Contreras became a grandfather while he was deported. He said he now dreams of doing as something as simple as going to the grocery store without fear of looking over his shoulder. He wants to travel, including to the Grand Canyon and Mount Rushmore. “I’ve always been an American, the difference is now I’m an American citizen and I have all the rights that any American born citizen has,” Hernandez said in the report. “And it was important to me to have those rights just to prove the point, the point being that anybody that’s willing to lay down their life, their sanity, and give everything that they hold dear for American freedom should be eventually at one point in their lives considered a U.S. citizen.” The AP reports that attendees at the naturalization ceremony cheered following the official oaths of citizenship. Other deported veterans returned by the Biden administration include Luis, who was deported to Nicaragua more than two decades ago. The veteran, who used only his first name to protect his family, was sworn in as a U.S. citizen in March 2022. While deported, he struggled to maintain a livelihood due to his undiagnosed PTSD. He eventually moved to Mexico, where he found support from Brotherhood of Deported Veterans, one of the grassroots organizations serving deported vets. “When Luis first contacted me, he told me it was hard for him to get around,” founder Juan Martinez told NBC News last year. “I didn’t want to see him dying here. He didn’t deserve to get back to the U.S. in a coffin.” Brotherhood of Deported Veterans began helping him with paperwork, and he was eventually connected to the Immigrant Defenders Law Center. In March, he would finally return home to the U.S. “I’ve cried over sadness before and problems I had in my life, but crying over happiness? That was the first time," Luis told NBC News about that day. In one of their very last legislative acts in the last Congress, House Democrats passed The Veteran Service Recognition Act, which would create an easier naturalization process for active service members and give some deported veterans a chance to return home to the U.S. All 208 votes opposing U.S. military service members were from Republicans. Only Brian Fitzpatrick, María Elvira Salazar, and former lawmaker Adam Kinzinger joined Democrats in protecting our service members. RELATED STORIES: Biden admin formally announces plan to return deported U.S. military veterans and family members Biden admin says ICE must consider U.S. military service when determining enforcement action Biden admin announces resource center for deported veterans seeking to return home to U.S. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/2/15/2153139/-Deported-veterans-returned-to-U-S-under-Biden-admin-initiative-receive-U-S-citizenship Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/