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Opinion: Finally, fairness for deported U.S. veterans

San Diego Union-Tribune - 7/7/2021

The editorial board operates independently from the U-T newsroom but holds itself to similar ethical standards. We base our editorials and endorsements on reporting, interviews and rigorous debate, and strive for accuracy, fairness and civility in our section. Disagree? Let us know.

For years, The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board has decried the fact that hundreds of U.S. military veterans — many from California — have been automatically deported after committing new crimes because of a strict interpretation of a 1996 federal law. These veterans all qualified for citizenship but didn't fill out the necessary paperwork. They should be allowed to come home, for America — the nation they served — is their rightful home.

Finally, the Biden administration has grasped the unfairness of this. On Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough announced plans to facilitate the return of deported veterans to the United States. The plans include a concentrated effort to help the veterans with the citizenship process and for them to receive both their benefits and COVID-19 vaccinations.

Several local politicians and the advocacy groups they support raised awareness of the issue by putting a spotlight on the men and women who go to the Deported Veterans Support House in Tijuana. The list includes Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez and her husband, county supervisor and former Marine Nathan Fletcher, and Rep. Juan Vargas.

"The Department of Homeland Security recognizes the profound commitment and sacrifice that service members and their families have made to the United States," Mayorkas said. This recognition is years overdue. But at least it has arrived.

This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.

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