>>> SERVICE AND THE U.S. MILITARY CAN BE A ROUTE FOR PEOPLE HOPING TO GET CITIZENSHIP BUT IT IS NOT A GUARANTEE.

SOME VETERANS ARE SUBJECT TO DEPORTATION FOR CRIMES COMMITTED AFTER THEIR MILITARY SERVICE EVEN IF THEY ARE MINOR AND NONVIOLENT.

REPORTS INDICATE THAT AT LEAST HUNDREDS OF VETERANS HAVE BEEN DEPORTED, AND NO FULL ACCOUNTING HAS EVER BEEN DONE.

JOINING US IS THE FOUNDER AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF GREEN CARD VETERANS.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

I'M WONDERING, HOW DID YOU START WITH GREEN CARDS FOR VETERANS?

>> WELL, IN 2017, I HAD A GROUP OF VETERANS WHO MET UNDER PEER MENTORING PROGRAM, WE DECIDED THAT THE STORY OF A VETERAN, WHO IS BEING DEPORTED FROM CHICAGO WAS AN INJUSTICE THAT NEEDED A VETERAN PERSPECTIVE TO HELP ADDRESS THAT ISSUE.

AT THE TIME, WE WEREN'T SURE OF THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM, BUT WE KNEW THAT IT WAS HAPPENING HERE.

SO, WE MOBILIZED, REORGANIZED, AND WE STARTED FIGHTING THIS NATIONAL FIGHT HERE IN CHICAGO.

IT WAS AND IS A GROUP OF VETERANS AND VETERAN FAMILY MEMBERS WHO VOLUNTEER UNDER THE GREEN CARD VETERANS UMBRELLA TO ADDRESS NOT JUST THE DEPORTATION OF VETERANS AS A WHOLE, BUT ALL THE DIFFERENT PHENOMENON THAT LEAD TO THAT OUTCOME.

>> AND I'M SURE PEOPLE ARE WONDERING, HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?

THIS WAS BACK IN 2017.

WHAT KIND OF CRIMES ARE WE TALKING ABOUT WHEN VETERANS GET DEPORTED, WHAT HAPPENS IN THOSE SITUATIONS?

>> SO, IT IS A WIDE RANGE, AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT HAS TO BE AN AGGRAVATED FELONY THAT IS NOT REPORTED IS AN AGGRAVATED FELONY ACCORDING TO THE FEDERAL IMMIGRATION SYSTEM.

SO, THERE CAN BE CHECK FRAUD, DUI, IT CAN BE ASSAULT, BATTERY FROM A BAR FIGHT.

THE RANGE OF CRIMES IS PRETTY WIDE.

NO ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL.

AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT I BELIEVE IS WHY IT IS SO DIFFICULT TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE WITH ONE POLICY, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF NUANCES WITHIN THIS.

>> I'M SURE THERE'S A LOT OF STATE LAWS THAT GO INTO EFFECT AND THINGS ARE TREATED OVERLY BASED ON WHERE YOU ARE.

>> CORRECT, AND THAT IS ONE OF THE WAYS THAT A LOT OF VETERANS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO COME BACK, BECAUSE OF CHANGES IN STATE LAWS, FOR INSTANCE, A CRIME THAT WAS A FELONY 20 YEARS AGO MIGHT HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO A MISDEMEANOR AND BECAUSE IT IS NOW A MISDEMEANOR, IT IS NO LONGER RECOGNIZED AS AN AGGRAVATED FELONY, VETERANS CAN GO THROUGH DIFFERENT PROCESSES WITHOUT THE AGGRAVATED FELONY ON THEIR RECORDS.

>> WHEN PEOPLE SAY DEPORTED VETERAN, I THINK THAT CONFUSES A LOT OF PEOPLE.

IS THIS AN ISSUE THAT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE AND HOW DOES IT HAPPEN?

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS TO PEOPLE?

>> IT IS NOT VERY COMMON KNOWLEDGE, EVEN AMONGST MILITARY MEMBERS.

THERE IS, I GUESS, MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE SERVING SIMILAR ROLES, THAT THEY ARE U.S. CITIZENS OR GRANTED U.S.

CITIZENSHIP UPON ENTERING WHICH IS DEFINITELY NOT THE CASE.

WHEN A SERVICE MEMBER FOR INSTANCE APPLIES FOR U.S.

CITIZENSHIP, THEY DO GET TO THE HEAD OF THE LINE BUT IT IS STILL AN APPLICATION PROCESS THAT OFTEN DOES GET DENIED.

THERE WAS A STUDY WITHIN THE LAST 5 YEARS THAT SHOULD MILITARY MEMBERS ARE ACTUALLY DENIED CITIZENSHIP AT HIGHER RATES THAN NONMILITARY MEMBERS WHICH DOES NOT MAKE SENSE, YET IT IS HAPPENING.

>> DO YOU GET THE SENSE THAT PEOPLE KNOW THIS GOING INTO THE MILITARY?

IS THIS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN INFORMED TO THEM?

>> I WOULDN'T SAY THAT IT IS.

MORE RECENTLY, THERE ARE EFFORTS NATIONALLY TO TRY TO ADDRESS THE DWINDLING RECRUITMENT NUMBERS BY ALLOWING DACA RECIPIENTS FOR ENTERING THE MILITARY, BUT I CANNOT SAY THAT MANY OF THOSE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN UNDERSTAND THAT THAT COULD HAPPEN TO THEM.

>> CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN VETERANS GET DEPORTED?

WHAT ARE THEIR EXPERIENCES LIKE?

>> TYPICALLY A VETERAN IS DEPORTED AFTER HAVING SERVED TIME IN PRISON FOR AN AGGRAVATED FELONY.

SO, THEY ARE NOT RELEASED BACK INTO THEIR OWN COMMUNITY.

THEY ARE PUT ON AN AIRPLANE OR BUS AND GO THROUGH THEIR DEPORTATION PROCEEDINGS THEIR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN USUALLY GOES THROUGH.

SO THEY GET TO EXPERIENCE THAT RETURN HOME TO A FOREIGN LAND, SO THEY OFTEN TIMES ARE LEFT WITHOUT ANY MONEY, ANY RESOURCES, ANY NETWORKS, ANY TYPE OF SERVICES THAT WOULD HELP THEM TO REINTEGRATE INTO ANY COMMUNITY MUCH LESS A COMMUNITY THAT IS TYPICALLY IN A PLACE WHERE THEY HAVE NO CONNECTION TO.

>> THAT IS HARD.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT COMES TO BRINGING THE VETERANS BACK?

WHAT IS THE ORGANIZATION DOING?

>> WHAT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL IS LOCAL EFFORTS.

WE ARE A PART OF A COALITION IN CHICAGO OF IMMIGRANT RIGHTS ACTIVISTS, AND WE ARE ABLE TO PLAY OUR PART, GOVERNOR J.B. PRITZKER WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE VETERAN CLEMENCY WHICH HELPED THEM TO NAVIGATE THE FEDERAL PROCESS.

IN NEW MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA, AND ARIZONA, A LOT OF THOSE EFFORTS CONTINUE THEIR.

WHY?

BECAUSE AS YOU SAID BEFORE, IT IS A LOT OF LOCAL LAWS THAT REALLY DICTATE WHAT AN AGGRAVATED FELONY IS.

SO, BECAUSE THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY TYPE OF UMBRELLA POLICY THAT WILL HELP THESE MEN AND