MOSCOW, May 21 (RIA Novosti) – Immigrant veterans who served in the United States military but were deported from the country after committing minor crimes have no legal path to return to the country, CBS 5 News reports.
All of the veterans were in the US legally when they joined the military, but they were not citizens and did not become citizens as they found themselves in trouble with the law later in life.
Act of 1996 increased the number of deportable offenses for non-citizens. Any single felony, including marijuana possession or shoplifting, may result in deportation, according to the report.
This concerned some several thousand other military veterans, the report says though it is difficult to estimate, as the Department of Homeland Security does not keep track of the number of veterans it deports.
The law has not changed since it was enacted and there are no exceptions for military veterans.
"Nobody wants to approach this subject," said Victor Hinojosa, who is with the organization Veterans without Borders, an advocacy group for veterans who have been deported.
Advocates like Victor Hinojosa hope that US authorities will take on the cause of the so-called deported veterans.
