Biden administration launches effort to identify and return deported U.S. veterans

[Nevilledog]

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Axios
@axios
The Biden administration launched an initiative to find deported U.S. veterans and bring them and their families back to United States, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veteran Affairs announced today.
President Biden with Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro in the White House in March 2021.

Biden administration launches effort to identify and return deported U.S. veterans
Potentially hundreds of people have been deported after serving.
axios.com
6:39 PM · Jul 2, 2021

https://www.axios.com/biden-administration-return-deported-veterans-152cd059-14bb-48ee-b094-d6632d0119e4.html

The Biden administration launched an initiative to find deported U.S. veterans and bring them and their families back to United States in order "to ensure they are able to obtain VA benefits to which they may be entitled," the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veteran Affairs announced Friday.

Why it matters: Legal immigrants can and do join the U.S. military, and potentially hundreds of people have been deported after serving, according to the Washington Post.

What they're saying: "The Department of Homeland Security recognizes the profound commitment and sacrifice that service members and their families have made to the United States of America,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement Friday.

“We are committed to bringing back military service members, veterans, and their immediate family members who were unjustly removed and ensuring they receive the benefits to which they may be entitled," he added.

The big picture: DHS announced it will halt all pending deportation proceedings against veterans or their immediate family members and remove certain naturalization barriers for those eligible.

DHS and VA are attempting to ensure that deported veterans receive health benefits, which include coronavirus vaccinations for them and their families.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement have deported veterans for decades though the exact number of deportations is unknown because the government did not screen them before their deportation, according to the Post.

[Thunderbeast]

1. E X C E L L E N T !

[Deuce]

2. The right thing to do...

[rickford66]

3. This veteran agrees 200%

[monkeyman1]

9. this veteran is with ya all the way !!

[Hekate]

4. Thank God for this man

[TreasonousBastard]

5. It's about time!

[onecaliberal]

6. His goodness never gets old.

[UTUSN]

7. Rolling.

[keithbvadu2]

8. Acc to Trump, veterans (and active) are losers and suckers.

Acc to Trump, veterans (and active) are losers and suckers.

[monkeyman1]

12. who is the loser "now " ???????

[Wounded Bear]

10. Semper Fi! Bring them home, Joe...

[monkeyman1]

11. full everything restored !!!!!

[GulfCoast66]

13. Excellent! The best way to support the military is to support veterans.

I would love to see a candidate vow to put the great group Wounded Warriors out of business. Because the government would give the veterans what they need rendering them unnecessary.

It is shameful that our veterans have to depend on a charity. An Embarrassment to the nation.

[EarnestPutz]

14. Wonderful news. If there are indeed hundreds of them, we should have a welcome home parade.

[NJCher]

15. who and why were they deported in the first place

Answer from the link to The Washington Post:

snip

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported veterans for decades, including when Biden was vice president. The precise number of deportees is unclear because the government failed to screen veterans before deporting them, a 2019 Government Accountability Office report found. Advocacy organizations estimate the government deported hundreds of veterans and thousands of their relatives.

Typically veterans were deported because they were convicted of crimes. Veterans advocates have said that many fell into trouble because of post-traumatic stress disorder related to their military service. But many of their relatives had no criminal records, such as the mother of an Air Force staff sergeant who returned last month.

snip

https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/biden-deported-veterans-return/2021/07/02/a557285e-db63-11eb-9bbb-37c30dcf9363_story.html

[mahina]

16. Good on Joe but

May that piece of garbage rot. Fucker.

[wnylib]

17. Weren't some of them promised

eligibility for citizenship when they enlisted? Seems to me that I read someplace that they were, but don't remember the source or the circumstances.

Our treatment of veterans is appalling. We praise them when they go off to war and then don't supply them with adequate equipment. We love to see them in parades in their uniforms, but refuse to acknowledge and treat the damage done to them in combat (agent orange). We don't help them adapt to civilian life or deal with PTSD. We use them and then abandon them.

If we really "support the troops," then we should never send them into an unnecessary war. When we do send them to war, we should equip them well. When they come home, we should not ever hesitate to treat them properly for any harm from their service. We should not have homeless vets. "Support our troops" is more than just a feel good slogan. It requires action to be meaningful.