Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials deported an army veteran who had served two tours of duty in Afghanistan on Friday following a PTSD-related drug conviction.
Miguel Perez Jr., pictured above in a photo held by his father, was a legal permanent resident living in Chicago. According to CNN, he arrived in the U.S at age 8 from Mexico and had a green card. He faced deportation after being sentenced to prison in 2010 for dealing cocaine while he was struggling with drug addiction — which he says came as a result of PTSD from serving in the army.
Perez retroactively applied for legal citizenship, pointing to both his military service and the danger he would encounter at the hands of Mexican drug cartels. He even went on a hunger strike to protest his deportation. However, the courts rejected his argument in January, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Perez’s lawyer told NBC News that Perez was “dumped in one of the most dangerous areas of the Mexican border” without any money.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) blasted the move, saying: “This is a deplorable way to treat a veteran who risked his life in combat for our nation.”
It’s a pretty fricking sad day when dealing in cocaine results in legal troubles. What is this nation coming to?
We treat our combat veterans so well. That’s why there are so many of them sleeping in the streets.
Pop Quiz Time:
Remember to show your work.
“Thank you for your service. Now get get.” Boy do we honor our vets or what?
I’d prefer that an agency deport draft dodgers with bone spurs and guys who joined the National Guard explicitly so they “would not die in some Vietnam rice paddy”
We need courageous people like Miguel Perez Jr. in America. Not cowards, liars and men of low courage.