We cannot allow our veterans to be deported again.
After decades of exile from the country to which they've pledged their lives, over 120 deported veterans have finally returned home to the U.S. Without pardons from President Biden, most of them will soon be at risk of deportation again. Twenty-seven repatriated veterans have asked President Biden for federal pardons to protect them from deportation and restore a pathway to citizenship.
Join our veterans and their families and take action now. The ACLU SoCal, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, the National Immigrant Justice Center, and other advocacy groups sent a letter to the Office of the Pardon Attorney calling for President Biden to grant the pardons and we need your support.
Tell President Biden to Protect Our Veterans.
Meet Jose Francisco ("Panchito") Lopez
Jose Francisco (“Panchito”) Lopez is a U.S. Army veteran from Texas and the founder of the Deported Veterans Support House in Juarez, Mexico. He was drafted and deployed during the Vietnam War. After being deported for 20 years, he returned to the United States thanks to the efforts of the Seattle Clemency Project. He needs a presidential pardon to obtain the citizenship he earned through his service and be protected from deportation.
Meet Juan Quiroz
Juan Quiroz is a U.S. Army veteran from Missouri. After being deported for 9 years, Juan has returned temporarily to the United States thanks to the efforts of Immigrant Defenders Law Center. He needs a presidential pardon to remain in the U.S. with his wife and children.
Learn more:
- Read Discharged, Then Discarded, a 2016 report examining the plight of deported veterans by the ACLUs of California.
- ACLU of Southern California 2019 Written Testimony on Deported Veterans
- Meet Hector Barajas: A formerly deported veteran votes for the first time
- L.A. Times: A deported veteran who has advocated for others becomes a U.S. citizen
- Independent: They joined the military thinking it was a path to citizenship – then they found out they were being deported
Sign the petition demanding the Biden administration pardon these 27 veterans