Deported U.S. military veteran Miguel Perez Jr. returned to the U.S. last month to attend a hearing as part of his bid to gain U.S. citizenship. He was here on a 14-day permit, and there was a chance he would have had to return to Mexico if the decision-making process had lasted longer than that. Just a few days before the permit was set to expire, he got the phone call with the good news: He was staying.
“Perez, 39, was sworn in at a naturalization ceremony at the Chicago field office of U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services in the South Loop,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported. "I fought for the country, the flag and Constitution,” Perez said following the ceremony, “and today the Constitution responded by saying, 'Welcome home.’”
It was a victory over a year in the making, following Perez’s deportation to Mexico in March 2018, after he lost his green card over a drug conviction in 2010. The veteran, who served twice in Afghanistan, had struggled with PTSD and addiction. He hasn’t been alone: “More than 2 of 10 Veterans with PTSD also have [substance abuse disorder],” the Department of Veterans Affairs notes. “In the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, about 1 in 10 returning Veterans seen in V.A. have a problem with alcohol or other drugs.”
A recent pardon from Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker cleared Perez’s conviction, and the veteran’s advocates, including military veteran and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, hoped that clearing that hurdle would ensure that Perez could return home where he belongs. “Miguel Perez was willing to protect our nation in uniform and his experiences after coming home—including the great lengths he went to reform his life—show us why we should never give up on our combat veterans,” Duckworth said.
Officials at the citizenship hearing appeared to agree. “Just two months ago, all this seemed impossible,” Perez said. “I was in Tijuana wondering about my future, not sure about what was the next step. Now, here I am." Saying he would be celebrating his brand-new citizenship with his 12-year-old son, Perez said he could never forget the deported veterans left behind. "There are other cases like mine. People who served in the military and were deported to Mexico, Costa Rica and Nigeria. I want to use the platform I have to help them."
Last year, deported military veteran Hector Barajas-Varela also won his fight to return to the U.S., after also receiving a pardon from then-Gov. Jerry Brown of California. During the time he was exiled from the nation he fought for, Barajas-Varela founded The Bunker, a Tijuana center to help deported veterans get back on their feet. Now a U.S. citizen, Barajas-Varela cast his first vote in the 2018 election.
Perez said he also plans to seek the mental health care he needs. “I am so proud to finally be able to call Miguel Perez a fellow American,” Duckworth said in a statement about his victory. “He sacrificed for our nation by serving overseas and, while this is long overdue, I’m glad Miguel can now breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate becoming a citizen of the country he loves and considers home. I send my best wishes to him and his family during this joyous time.”
