Spike in deportations traps thousands of veterans

A permanent resident, veteran faces deportation
Inquirer
Michael Matza, Staff Writer
Posted: Monday, October 21, 2013

Neuris Richard Feliz, 29, a former power-generation specialist for the U.S. Army, lives in a small apartment above a Lancaster storefront.

In the dining room sits his photo in green uniform, against the backdrop of an American flag. On a shelf, a horse-head profile on the yellow shield of his First Cavalry Division.

Buried in a closet are the pictures Feliz hides - corpses shredded by Iraqi roadside bombs; forward-operating-base ceremonies for fallen comrades whose lives were memorialized with Battlefield Crosses made from their helmets, boots, and rifles.

Now, almost a decade after a dangerous year under mortar fire, after receiving medals for "good conduct," "national defense service," and the "global war on terrorism," Feliz is to be deported for beating a man with an ax handle and serving three years in prison.

Their situation is part of a dramatic spike in deportations under President Obama - a record 1.5 million people in his first term. Estimates put the number of "banished vets" - barred permanently from the United States - at several hundred to around 3,000.

Their plight is hardly noticed in the brittle brawl over immigration reform, as politicians who defend our troops are less inclined to go to bat for them after convictions.
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