They served in the US army, then got in trouble with the law. Because they were foreign citizens, US veterans were deported to Mexico. Now they're asking for a chance to come home
ADVERTISEMENTThey are US veterans. But they also are foreign citizens. And the US deported them.
In the US military, 3% are foreign-born and 75,000 are not US citizens. Many US veterans suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse.
But for US veterans who are foreign citizens, getting into trouble with the law for crimes related to their PTSD leads to a "double punishment": they don't just serve a prison sentence, they then get deported from the country.
This Left Field episode follows US veterans who were deported to Mexico. "My heart and my mind [are] in the US, you know?" says a veteran in the video. Click on the player above to listen to their full story.