This immigrant served in the US military. Now he faces deportation
On Thursday morning, a small group of advocates gathered outside the United States federal courthouse in San Diego, California. One of them pointed to a
On Thursday morning, a small group of advocates gathered outside the United States federal courthouse in San Diego, California. One of them pointed to a poster of a young man in a US Navy uniform, three golden medals pinned to his chest. "This is my brother, Benito Miranda Hernandez, US Navy veteran," said James Smith, the founder of Black Deported Veterans of America. Smith and the other advocates had organised the demonstration on behalf of Hernandez, who was miles away at that moment, stuck in an immigration detention facility. Brought from Mexico to the US as a baby, Hernandez had completed three tours of duty with the US military during the Iraq war. His military service was meant to be his path to citizenship. But now, Hernandez is among the immigrant veterans fighting deportation under US President Donald Trump. "These men and women were promised that they were going to get their citizenship if they served," Smith said. "Help this brother come home." Trump has pledged to prioritise immigrants with criminal records in his push for mass deportation. But advocates for US military members argue that veterans are particularly vulnerable, given their over-representation in prisons and jails. The majority have reported suffering from mental health problems after their service. Hernandez, for instance, said he struggled to reintegrate into civilian life after leaving the military. But on June 14, he had finally completed his years-long sentence for a drug conviction.
As he waited for his mother, Maria Miranda, to pick him up, agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him. Only afterwards did Miranda and her other son arrive. They spent hours that day looking for him, not knowing where he had gone. "He was doing things right," Miranda told Al Jazeera in Spanish. "He had so many hopes, so many dreams." Hernandez has since been transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego. He faces deportation, despite having received his green card for permanent residency earlier this year. He previously spoke to Al Jazeera about his experiences for an article published in April. Hernandez’s detention is part of a trend under the Trump administration. While the exact number of deported veterans is impossible to pin down – ICE has long failed to collect the veteran status of the people it detains, as is required – several advocates told Al Jazeera that they have been witnessing a rise in the deportations of US veterans during Trump's second term. The New York Times reported in March that at least 34 veterans have been placed in deportation proceedings in the last year. Some cases have received media attention. But advocates say other immigrant veterans have avoided the spotlight, fearing it may have a negative impact on their immigration cases. "As the ICE raids continue and revamp across the country, there's going to be people that are veterans that have not become US citizens that unfortunately will end up falling through the cracks," said Robert Vivar, cofounder of the Tijuana-based Unified US Deported Veterans Resource Center.
The BriefWire