A Mexican-born U.S. Army veteran who was deported is set to become an American citizen in San Diego next month, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California announced Friday.
“This is great! I’m going home, Ma!” Hector Barajas-Varela said, according to the ACLU of Southern California.
Barajas-Varela served in the Army from 1995 to 2001 and was honorably discharged. Among the awards he earned, he received the Army Commendation Medal and Humanitarian Service Medal.
In 2002, Barajas-Varela entered a plea of no contest to a charge of shooting at an occupied vehicle, which ultimately led to his deportation. He re-entered the U.S. after being unable to adjust to Mexico, but was deported again in 2010.
After Barajas-Varela was deported again, he founded the Deported Veterans Support House to help veterans receive housing, social services, and legal resources.
“Finally, after years of fighting for the rights of deported veterans to return to the U.S., Hector will be able to return home as an American citizen,” Jennie Pasquarella, director of immigrants rights for the ACLU of California and an attorney for Barajas-Varela, said in a statement.
“Hector, like a true soldier, has fought day in and day out since his deportation on behalf of deported veterans across the globe,” she added. “He never gave up hope that he would one day return to his home and be reunited with his family.”
Last spring, California Gov. Jerry Brown pardoned Barajas-Varela for the conviction that initiated his deportation. Barajas-Varela is the second deported veteran that Brown has pardoned that has been granted re-entry to the U.S.
