On Tuesday, The Chicago Tribune told the story of U.S. Army veteran Miguel Perez Jr., who was beginning a hunger strike to protest his likely deportation. Perez, 39, served two tours in Afghanistan and recently finished a prison term on a drug conviction.
ICE has arrested a U.S. army veteran who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and has two U.S. citizen children. His name is Miguel Perez Jr. and he has lived in the U.S. since he was 8 years old https://t.co/xheimPemlO
— Spencer Woodman (@spencerwoodman) February 1, 2018
Perez is now hunger striking in a Wisconsin detention facility: "If it comes down to me being deported, I would rather leave this world in the country I gave my heart for”
— Spencer Woodman (@spencerwoodman) February 1, 2018
Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau picked up on the cause of Perez.
This hero with 2 kids volunteered to risk his life for our country, came back with PTSD, a brain injury, and a substance abuse issue, and now our government is telling him he's not an American and needs to leave? Is that what we want? https://t.co/FVLIiMWJIK
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) February 2, 2018
45s administration and the complicit GOP are making America a country to be embarrassed about, not proud of. The treatment of a veteran or ANY #DREAMer in such a manner is reprehensible and MUST STOP NOW. 116th Congress will end this madness. #Peacock4Congress #CA42 #ShesWithMe
— Julia Peacock (@peacock4ca42) February 1, 2018
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Is deportation of veterans what we want? It’s a good question worthy of discussion. Favreau, however, left something out of his tweet.
https://twitter.com/JamesHasson20/status/959266584035516416
This certainly isn’t the first that Perez has faced deportation. WLS-TV reported that ICE first encountered Perez while he was serving his prison sentence for selling cocaine and placed him into removal proceedings in 2012; that report came before his imminent deportation in December 2016.
Perez’s lawyer had filed a request for relief against deportation under the United Nations Convention against Torture, claiming his military background would make him a target of Mexican drug cartels. A three-judge panel rejected that appeal last week.
In 2016, ICE did issue a statement saying that it “specifically identifies service in the U.S. military as a positive factor that should be considered when deciding whether or not prosecutorial discretion should be exercised.” However, “applicable law requires ICE to mandatorily detain and process for removal individuals who have been convicted of aggravated felonies as defined under the Immigration and Nationality Act.”
Again, whether that’s the sort of person the United States wants to deport is up for discussion, but members of the Obama administration really seem to have another blind spot when it comes to the deportation of illegals.
Related:
‘Makes me sick’: Geraldo’s pissed at Obama over illegal immigrant deportations
Protest against Obama’s deportation policy blocks DC street for hours
‘Do you stand with the Deporter-in-Chief?’: Immigration protesters take over Harry Reid’s office
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