Venezuelan Andres Barco, a former combatant who served two tours in Iraq, where he was wounded and received the Purple Heart Medal, is the latest non-citizen service member to be deported under President Donald Trump's administration.

Barco, 39, enlisted in the army at age 17 and was deported on November 14 at the border in Nogales, Mexico.

During his military career, Barco completed the paperwork to obtain citizenship, but his application was never processed for unknown reasons, despite having been submitted.

Barco, who entered the United States as an asylum seeker as a child, was wounded by an improvised explosive device in Iraq during his time in the US Army and received the Purple Heart Medal for his service. He was also awarded the Combat Infantry Badge.

During his military career, Barco completed the paperwork to obtain citizenship, but his application was never processed for unknown reasons, despite having been submitted, which is why he was deported from the country last Friday.

“All veterans should be automatically naturalized upon joining the military and be recognized for their service,” said Hector Barajas, founder of the Casa de Apoyo a Veteranos Deportados (House of Support for Deported Veterans) in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. “Everyone should be given support.”

Barajas received an honorable discharge in 2001, but was deported in 2004 after serving a prison sentence in California. He returned to the United States that same year and started a family, but was deported again in 2009 for a traffic violation. Barajas finally returned to the United States in 2018 as a citizen after a protracted 14-year legal battle.

Recruited with false promises?

Even without being citizens, thousands of men have been recruited to serve in the United States Army, lured by the false promise that upon completion of their service they could regularize their immigration status. This led to the deportation of Venezuelan Andres Barco a few days ago.

An honorable discharge from the army does not guarantee naturalization.

Barco had a criminal record related to a 2008 shooting in southern Colorado and served 15 years in prison for attempted criminal murder; he also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the incident that led to his imprisonment, one of the bullets he fired wounded a 19-year-old woman in the leg.

According to Department of Defense figures, as of early 2024, more than 40,000 foreign nationals were serving in the armed forces, both on active duty and in the reserves. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) estimated that another 115,000 foreign nationals residing in the United States have served on active duty in the past.

Deported and unnaturalized; three categories

At least 10,000 of the 40,000 veterans have been deported from the country during President Donald Trump's administration, due to legal issues and, in many cases, incidents related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The unofficial figure for veteran deportations is included in a letter sent by Arizona Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins, and Secretary of Homeland Security Christy Noem.

“We are writing to you to express our deep concern regarding the deportation of veterans and service members who have served and continue to serve honorably in the United States Armed Forces,” the letter states.

“These individuals have demonstrated their commitment to our nation through their military service, and the possibility of their removal from the country they swore to defend raises serious “Doubts about our nation's obligations and values,” the document adds. To better understand the magnitude of the sport veterans problem and ensure the government fulfills its responsibilities, Congresswoman Ansani requested answers regarding the number of veterans facing deportation. The legislator asked for a breakdown of these individuals according to their current stage in the legal process: whether they are under investigation, in removal proceedings, have final deportation orders, and in which states they are located. According to Hector Barajas, among US military immigrants there are three classes: those who are legal residents and have committed some infraction against the laws and are deported after completing their service; undocumented immigrants sent to war through conscription (as happened in World War I and World War II, in addition to the Korean and Vietnam Wars). The third category corresponds to those who have been repatriated due to the MAVNI program (Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest). Through the MAVNI program, thousands of foreigners who were already in the country and seeking citizenship were recruited. However, hundreds of registrants have been exposed to the risk of deportation.Federal law allows foreign-born individuals serving on active duty in the military or in any component of the Reserve (such as the Naval Reserve or the Army National Guard) to naturalize and obtain US citizenship after completing one year of honorable service in peacetime, or immediately if they serve during designated periods of hostility, such as the War on Terror, which began on September 11, 2001, and continues to this day. However, in 2017, the Trump Administration restricted this expedited citizenship process by implementing new mandatory waiting periods before the Department of Defense could issue the “honorable service” documentation that immigrant service members were required to have to apply for naturalization. “Honorable service” alone did not guarantee naturalization. The Trump administration required recruits to serve at least six months and undergo additional background and security checks before they could even begin the naturalization process. Some even had to apply for naturalization from abroad while deployed on active duty. This obstacle made preparing the required documentation, fingerprinting, and interviews considerably more difficult. On August 25, 2020, a federal judge ruled that the mandatory waiting periods were illegal, striking down the policy and ordering the Department of Defense to certify service within 30 days of the application. However, the damage had already been done: more than 250 veterans faced removal or deportation proceedings between 2013 and 2018 (including two years of the Trump administration).

“We need our contributions to be made visible, especially to counter the rhetoric that Latinos don't love the country and aren't willing to defend it. This is false,” Vargas points out.

ALVA launched an initiative, whose objective is to highlight the experiences of Latino and Hispanic veterans; it seeks to gather crucial information about the transition from military to civilian life, access to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits, and the challenges and opportunities that Latino veterans face across the country.The Trump Administration restricted this expedited citizenship process by implementing new mandatory waiting periods before the Department of Defense could issue the “honorable service” documentation that immigrant service members were required to have to apply for naturalization. “Honorable service” alone did not guarantee naturalization. The Trump administration required recruits to serve at least six months and undergo additional background and security checks before they could even begin the naturalization process. Some even had to apply for naturalization from abroad while deployed on active duty. This obstacle made preparing the required documentation, fingerprinting, and interviews considerably more difficult. On August 25, 2020, a federal judge ruled that the mandatory waiting periods were illegal, striking down the policy and ordering the Department of Defense to certify service within 30 days of the application. However, the damage had already been done: more than 250 veterans faced removal or deportation proceedings between 2013 and 2018 (including two years of the Trump administration).