'Caught in limbo': Decorated Iraq War veteran now target of Trump deportations

09 April

A man who served in the U.S. military and survived two combat deployments to Iraq is now at risk of being deported to a country that is refusing to accept him.

Rolling Stone columnist Michael Embrich wrote Wednesday about the case of Army veteran Jose Barco, who is now in deportation proceedings even though he's an honorably discharged Purple Heart recipient diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. According to Embrich, Barco is "caught in limbo" as he faces deportation to Venezuela, despite not having visited the country since he was a toddler.

Barco — whose father fled Cuba for Venezuela before bringing him to the U.S. at age four — received his Purple Heart medal after an explosion launched him into a wall, resulting in severe burns and a traumatic brain injury. In 2004, he served in Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, and saw frequent combat as his deployment was during the height of the Iraqi insurgency.

Embrich went on to write about how Barco was nearly naturalized, as he got help with his U.S. citizenship application from his commanding officer. However, Barco's file got lost in the application process, and he had no way to track it in the system. As Embrich explained, Barco had a "straightforward path to naturalization" that ended up becoming "an invisible trap door leading to exile."

Barco then found himself embroiled in the legal system after a 2008 incident in which he randomly fired a shot into a crowd and hit a pregnant teen. He served 15 years in prison for attempted murder, but was released this January on good behavior after his first parole hearing. Following his early release, the Trump administration put him on a plane to Venezuela, though the Nicolas Maduro regime refuses to accept him, arguing his birth certificate looks too new to be legitimate.

"Now he is stateless, a man with no nation," Embrich wrote. "The United States of America — the same nation he fought and bled for — has denied him the basic dignity of belonging."

Barco's story is coming to light as the Trump administration has been busy subjecting hundreds of immigrants — including those with green cards and others who are in the country on legal visas — to deportation proceedings. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said earlier this week that even some U.S. citizens with violent criminal records could be flown to foreign prisons, though she admitted the proposal may not be legal.

Click here to read Embrich's full essay in Rolling Stone (subscription required).

From Your Site Articles