Thursday, May 27, 2010
Rudi Richardson, deported to Germany after 46 years in the U.S.
Service in the armed forces is no guarantee for legal immigrants to remain in the United States if they break the law. There are approximately 3,000 to 4,000 veterans awaiting deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is using a 1996 law to speed up the process of removing so-called banished veterans.
Advocates, and some former high-ranking military officers, disagree with the policy, believing that those who have served the U.S., and possibly risked their lives doing so, deserve a chance to remain in the country, even if it’s behind bars.
“I come at it from a legal, moral and ethical background,” retired Army Major General Alfred Valenzuela, former deputy commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, told Military.com. “If you commit a crime, you pay your dues. Having said that … if you’ve served your country, I think you are due a certain right, if you will, [to be allowed to stay in the United States].”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Troubled Vets ‘ICEd,’ Booted From US (by Bryant Jordan, Military.com)
Rudi Richardson’s Story (Banished Veterans)
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