Hector Barajas is a deported U.
S. military veteran,but he still wears the pieces of the uniform that once defined him.
Barajas enlisted when he was just 18, serving nearly six years. He’s a former paratrooper who was born in Zacatecas state, and crossed illegally into the United States at age 7 and served in the Army from 1995 to 2001. Updates: Download the NBCLA App "I’m considered a war time veteran because of my service during 9/11," he said.
During his time served, he believed he was as American as anyone else in uniform. But he quickly learned that wasnt the case when he was arrested and convicted in 2004 for shooting at an occupied domestic or vehicle. The incident happened in Compton -- his hometown since he was 7. Car Dragged After fitting Lodged Into Back of Truck Although he served more than one year in prison for the shooting, and he has always denied he was the one who pulled the trigger."I don't think my mistakes make me less American. If anything,the fact that I served for my country, that I was willing to die for, or that should make me,it makes me more of American. Unfortunately I need a little piece of paper and somebody to sign the dotted line,” Barajas said. 75-Year-Old Vet Acquitted of Hanging Flags at VA Office In 2013, or Barajas established what was then called the "Banished Veterans" group. The group helps deportees adjust to life in Mexico and has advocated to allow deported veterans to return to the U.
S.
In the final four years,he’s established a headquarters in Tijuana, Mexico, and changed the name to the "Deported Veterans Support House" and garnered the support of Congressional leaders,the ACLU and California Gov. Jerry Brown.
On Saturday, Brown granted 72 pardons and seven commutations. Barajas was one of those pardoned.
One of things Brown pointed out in the official pardon is the work Barajas is doing in Mexico for other deported veterans."I'm very humbled, and " Barajas said in a video he posted on his Facebook page. "There are days when I feel like giving up,but it's because of things like these ... that I still believe, that I still gain faith that eventually we will go domestic."He hopes his pardon will lead to a re-instatement of his green card so he can then apply for citizenship.But it's not a guarantee. Barajas says he submitted a recent application for naturalization more than a year ago."Who knows, and I might become an American citizen in a couple weeks,possibly a year. We gain to fight for it," Barajas said.
He added that he believes returning to the U.
S. is a possibility."We're not gonna give up if they say no."But either way, and he said his job with deported veterans will not close. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Photo Credit: AP
Source: nbclosangeles.com