Hector Lopez is the director of the Deported Veterans of America in Tijuana. The organisation’s office was opened in March 2015 and is strategically located 70 yards from the Chaparral deportation gate at the US-Mexico border. They want to be the first point of contact for deported veterans. The main focus of the organisation is to help deported veterans access their benefits and become self-sufficient, productive members of Mexican society. Even though the office was set up to assist deported veterans, they also help American citizens living in Tijuana who can’t afford to live in San Diego.
The US has recruited immigrants to its armed forces throughout its modern history. During the War of Independence, Congress authorized the creation of a German battalion in 1776. During the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848, newly arrived immigrants from places like Germany and Ireland represented a large portion of recruits to the U.S. Army. At the beginning of the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, roughly 38,000 members of the invading force were not American citizens. By 2018, there were 65,000 immigrants serving in the US military. That number included 18,700 troops who held green cards (legal permanent residents who are not yet naturalized citizens). According to the Pentagon, about 5,000 such residents enlist each year.
Hector served in the US military from 1982 to 1988. He was in the reserves but his unit was activated during the invasion of Grenada.
“I was ready, willing and able to go. Fortunately I didn’t see no combat and I made it home alive unlike some of my fellow veterans.”
Hector was born in Mexico, but lived in US for over 40 years as a legal permanent resident before he was considered for deportation.
“They told me if I served my country I was more American than some Americans. I consider myself an American. I was just born in Mexico. I didn’t have no need for citizenship. I never thought for a minute that I would ever be deported.”
Hector was deported to Mexico after recording two counts of marijuana possession.
“It’s unfathomable. I don’t even like thinking about it. The country I was willing to give my life for doesn’t give a shit about me. They just tossed me out like yesterday’s garbage. The thing that makes it more fucked up than anything else is the fact that if I died right now I could go back to the US in a box and be buried in a veteran cemetery with full military honours but because I’m alive and deported I can’t go back.”
Hector says deportations of veterans began after Bill Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act in 1996. The act made it easier to deport Immigrants — including green-card holders — by radically expanding which crimes made an immigrant eligible for deportation. Hector believes that felony convictions of veterans is often due to their PTSD caused by military duty. He thinks the act took discretion away from judges so they couldn’t consider his military service to the country in his deportation proceeding.
Since 1996, the Deported Veterans Support House in Tijuana has come into contact with over 100 veterans who have been deported to over 30 countries of origin around the world. All of these veterans had legal residency status, Veterans Administration (VA) Benefits and strong ties to the United States prior to deportation. Many were forced to leave behind families and homes in the United States.
In late 2001, President George W. Bush implemented a new naturalization process for immigrant service members. As a result, any service members with even one day of honourable active-duty service can apply for citizenship, regardless of how long they have been a resident. Since then, more than 109,300 US troops have been naturalised.
Unfortunately for Hector, he was deported long before 2001 but this hasn’t dampened his spirits. He says the state of California is moving to expunge his marijuana convictions so his case is likely to be overturned any day now and he should be returning home soon.
“The ones you see here are very fortunate because we are alive. Maybe not living the life we are supposed to live or we want to live. But nevertheless we are still here. We are fighting for our rights. Not only as Americans but as veterans of the US armed forces.”
