https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/03/04/more-military-families-come-forward-with-deportation-fears/#.Wp0qPNzRYut.twitterThe day after the first family stepped forward, more followed.
In the wake of a Military Times story published Feb. 28 about a retired soldier’s wife who was facing deportation under the latest Department of Homeland Security policies, others from the military community reached out with similar stories of fear and uncertainty regarding immigration rules.
“My name is Alejandra Juarez and I just read your article. Today is not a good day for me, as my deportation date approaches. My story is the same...†wrote Juarez, who is married to an Iraq veteran and former Marine and Army national guardsman.
Then an undocumented husband of an active-duty female soldier wrote in.
“We’ve been waiting for [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] to come pick me up,†he wrote from Texas, where he manages the family when his wife deploys.
Then came a Maryland Army national guardsman and full-time police officer who was worried about his wife.
“I’ve spent thousands and I am still in the process,†of protecting his wife, the guardsman said. The couple filed immigration paperwork in 2015. They didn’t get their hearing until January 2018; the case is still unresolved, he said.
“I was deployed and worried that my wife and child would be deported by the same country I was fighting for,†the guardsman told Military Times.
Last week, Military Times wrote in detail about retired 7th Special Forces Group Sgt. 1st Class Bob Crawford. Crawford and his wife Elia were facing the possibility that a Virginia immigration court would decide to deport her on Monday.
After years of saying nothing, he decided to make his case public, and the story drew nationwide attention. By Thursday night, after intense public interest, the Department of Homeland Security announced an offer to drop the removal proceedings against Elia — one step in a process that should allow her to stay in the U.S. with Bob and their two kids.
“Hopefully this brings attention to the flaws in the system so other families won’t have to worry or have the stress of going through this,†Bob Crawford said the day after the story about his family published.
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