Biden administration working to allow deported veterans back into U.S.

After years of activism that grew out of Tijuana, the Biden administration is taking official steps to help deported veterans come back to the United States, according to a message sent to Congress on Friday.

The joint announcement from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas and Veteran Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough also promises support for U.S. military members’ immediate family who have been deported.

In addition to a policy review to assist deported veterans and military family in returning to the U.S., the Biden administration officials said that they would support deported veterans in getting their benefits and particularly in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. They also plan to remove barriers for military members to naturalize and to create an immigration resource center for service members and their families.

“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,” Mayorkas said. “Together with our partner the Department of Veterans Affairs, 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. Today we are taking important steps to make that a reality.”

The announcement comes after Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) last week chaired a congressional hearing on immigration policies that affect U.S. military members. That hearing followed a crescendo of activism by organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and politicians including San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), as well as deported veterans themselves led for years by Hector Barajas of the Deported Veterans Support House in Tijuana.