Bring our veterans home!
A history of Mexican American service and sacrifice
Photo: Deported Veterna’s Support House
There is little information in media outlets regarding the history of Hispanic participation in the United States’ wars of intervention. This lack of information is why many good people are so easily led into a public discourse unworthy of them.
What is even sadder is that few are aware that the largest single contingent of Hispanics who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan was composed of Mexicans and Mexican Americans. Called “green-card troops” and, by some, the “poverty draft,” they were all actively recruited by the U.S. Army.
Between 70,000 and 80,000 of the Hispanic troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan were noncitizens of the United States. While Latinos make up 12.5% of the U.S. population, they accounted for 15% of the Marine Corps and 17.5% of all front-line forces. Of the first 1,000 combat deaths in Iraq, over 120 were Latino and 70 of them were Mexican.
The large number of noncitizen Mexican troops — brothers in arms with the more than 100,000 Mexican American citizens in the Army — is the result of an initiative signed by President George W. Bush in 2002, which gave them a fast track to citizenship. This is coupled with the Mexican community’s strong belief in paying back the country and protecting the homeland, however misplaced that belief might be perceived by others in the case of Iraq.
We now know that many of them have been betrayed and some deported because their papers were lost or not filed, either due to poor information provided to the troops or bureaucratic inefficiency. Others have been deported for offenses committed later in civilian life, despite assurances otherwise.
The fact remains that more Mexicans have fought and died in Iraq and Afghanistan than any other nationality per capita. It is important that we acknowledge the contributions that Mexicans and Mexican Americans have made to this country and that we teach this history in our schools. Not only about the contributions of the warriors, but about those of the poets, novelists, civil leaders, doctors, lawyers, artists, chefs and musicians, the historians, priests, teachers and mothers who have raised their children to be loyal citizens and to contribute to the community.
Most people in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America consider the term “American” as descriptive of the hemisphere, not something exclusive to the United States. After all, Christopher Columbus discovered America in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), not in Washington, D.C. “I look forward to the day,” Octavio Paz wrote, “when the United States will see itself as part of America, not all of it.”
Among the veterans who have been deported is Alex Murillo, who served in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm in Iraq. When he returned from the war, he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had problems with substance abuse. Convicted of marijuana possession shortly after his honorable discharge, he was deported and forced to leave his four children in Phoenix: two girls, aged eight and four, and two boys, 12 and 10. That was in 2013. Now he lives in Tijuana with little hope of return, as the governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, is deaf to immigrant veterans’ concerns.
But there are some hopeful signs, and we need to mark them on this Memorial Day. In Chicago, Army veteran Miguel Perez, who fought in Afghanistan and was deported in 2018, has since been granted clemency by the governor of Illinois and was allowed to return to the United States. He received support from Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat who served in Iraq. In addition, the Deported Veterans Support House in Tijuana offers housing, medical access and moral support to deported veterans.
Recently, Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., introduced the Veterans Visa and Protection Act, which would allow eligible deported veterans to return to the United States as lawful permanent residents. He previously introduced this legislation in 2016, but it was voted down. This time, Sen. Duckworth has introduced companion legislation in the Senate, and it is hoped that Congress can come together and correct this injustice. As Rep. Grijalva noted: “It is unreasonable that the phrase deported veteran even exists. If you’re good enough to fight for the country, then you’re good enough to become a U.S. citizen.”
It is currently estimated that over 2,000 deported veterans are now living in Mexican border towns. It is time for this shameful practice to end. It is time to bring our veterans home. It is time for bipartisan support of legislation to provide citizenship to those who have served their country. This is not a Republican or Democratic issue. It is an American issue.
As Octavio Paz reminds us, “Todos somos Americanos.” We are all Americans. And that must include those who have risked their lives for this nation and whom we honor today.