--- title: Veteran Who Served in Afghanistan Deported to Mexico description: Veteran Miguel Perez Jr. was deported to Mexico despite two tours in Afghanistan with the U.S. Army canonical: https://time.com/5215153/army-veteran-deported-tammy-duckworth/ author: Laignee Barron article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-26T06:21:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:46:18.969Z article:section: Politics og:title: Army Veteran Deported to Mexico After 2 Afghanistan Tours og:description: After his service, he was diagnosed with PTSD and a possible brain injury og:url: https://time.com/5215153/army-veteran-deported-tammy-duckworth/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt84572046296ce861/69892bf0db298775b325f359/gettyimages-666335286.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5760 og:image:height: 3240 og:image:alt: US-IMMIGRATION-VETERANS-DEPORTATION-immigration-veterans-deporta og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Army Veteran Deported to Mexico After 2 Afghanistan Tours twitter:description: After his service, he was diagnosed with PTSD and a possible brain injury twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt84572046296ce861/69892bf0db298775b325f359/gettyimages-666335286.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # U.S. Army Veteran Deported to Mexico After 2 Tours in Afghanistan > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Laignee Barron](https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Mar 26, 2018 6:21 AM UTC  Miguel Perez poses as he holds a photo of his son Miguel Perez Jr. and an American flag in Chicago, Ill. on April 4, 2017. Miguel Perez poses as he holds a photo of his son Miguel Perez Jr. and an American flag in Chicago, Ill. on April 4, 2017.Joshua Lott—AFP/Getty Images by [Laignee Barron](https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/) ## Laignee Barron Mar 26, 2018 6:21 AM UTC U.S. Army veteran Miguel Perez Jr. was [deported to Mexico](https://edition.cnn.com/2018/03/25/us/us-veteran-deported-to-mexico/index.html) Friday, despite having served two tours in Afghanistan that reportedly left him with post-traumatic stress disorder, CNN reports. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) escorted Perez, 39, across the US-Mexico border and handed him over to Mexican authorities after a felony drug charge prevented him from obtaining U.S. citizenship. In 2010, Perez was convicted on a cocaine charge, had his green card revoked and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. After serving half his sentence, he was transferred to an immigration detention center. Perez had lived in the U.S. legally with permanent residence status since he was 11, according to a [statement](https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/duckworth-sounds-alarm-on-the-imminent-deportation-of-united-states-combat-veteran) released by the office of Ill. Senator Tammy Duckworth. Perez’s parents and children are citizens, it said. “This is a deplorable way to treat a veteran who risked his life in combat for our nation,” Duckworth said. Perez’ family and supporters had lobbied for the veteran to be able to stay in the country in return for his years of service, and asked that he receive treatment for substance abuse that he has attributed to his experiences in Afghanistan. After his service, Perez was diagnosed at a military hospital with PTSD, as well as a possible brain injury. ICE spokesperson Nicole Alberico [told NBC](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/veteran-who-served-two-tours-afghanistan-deported-mexico-n859931) that the agency has the right to exercise “prosecutorial discretion” including with members of the U.S. armed forces who do not automatically obtain citizenship. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5215153/army-veteran-deported-tammy-duckworth/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5215153/army-veteran-deported-tammy-duckworth/"},"headline":"U.S. Army Veteran Deported to Mexico After 2 Tours in Afghanistan","datePublished":"2018-03-26T06:21:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:46:18.969Z","description":"He was denied citizenship due to a felony drug charge","url":"https://time.com/5215153/army-veteran-deported-tammy-duckworth/","keywords":["Immigration","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt84572046296ce861/69892bf0db298775b325f359/gettyimages-666335286.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laignee Barron","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laignee-barron/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt84572046296ce861/69892bf0db298775b325f359/gettyimages-666335286.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-IMMIGRATION-VETERANS-DEPORTATION-immigration-veterans-deporta","caption":"US-IMMIGRATION-VETERANS-DEPORTATION-immigration-veterans-deporta","creditText":"Joshua Lott—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/immigration/","name":"Immigration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5215153/army-veteran-deported-tammy-duckworth/","name":"U.S. Army Veteran Deported to Mexico After 2 Tours in Afghanistan"}}]}] ```