VOCES

Water running

-"Semper Fi," "always faithful" -- it is the famous motto of the U.S. Marines, but has the U.S. shown the same commitment to those who served? -Deported veterans, some of whom are decorated and wounded, remain absent from the debate in Washington over immigration reform. Thousands have been deported in recent years. -"Deported veterans" is a term that shouldn't even exist. Most of them lived in America their entire lives, and as a result of some sort of infraction, they've gotten deported. -This is putting the American people at risk. I mean, these people came illegally. -Traffic violations? -Yes, but they came here illegally. They need to be deported back to their country. -So you could stop it if you wanted to. -Yes. -Have you stopped it for any veterans? -No. -When I went to Vietnam in 1971, I was 19 years old. I was in the 3rd Marine Division Gulf Company. Our duty was to go in there and help troops who were pinned down in combat situation... get them out of there. We're a band brothers. We don't leave nobody behind. No matter what. -Today, there are thousands of veterans who served in every branch of the military who are being or have been deported. It is a national disgrace. I would like to announce that I will be driving across the country to the White House. I will personally deliver a letter to the president, formally requesting that he leave no soldier behind.

Crickets chirping, dog barking

Some nights, you can't sleep... ...just thinking about immigration officials coming over and looking for me and picking me up and deporting me, and no one would know. Or taking me to prison and holding me.

Engine starts

It's a horrible feeling. I say to myself, "I can't be around people, like, normal people." My family -- they call me the tumbleweed because... I don't spend over six months in one area.

Lighter clicks

I sacrificed my youth... back in Vietnam. I volunteered in Roswell, New Mexico. I was 18.

Helicopter blades whirring

In the spring of 1968, I was flown to Vietnam. All 18-, 19-year-olds. And the guys were... teasing us by saying, "Welcome to Vietnam." My heart was racing. We could feel the Earth shaking. We could hear explosions, and we could see fires. The moment we landed, we were told to run for cover. Right away, you know, death is near.

Gunfire

Explosion

Gunfire, explosions

I'm 70 years old, and I still have nightmares... where I find myself trembling or shaking and crying for no reason. I was told that I needed to write down my war experiences and that would help me heal. I had a diary that I wrote in Vietnam... and I started writing a book. I still have demons. Eventually, they're gonna follow me to the grave, but... it's like a release... from some of those wounds from the war. -I moved to Colorado Springs around 1996. I got the whole family there. Let's go. We're running late. I've been doing taekwondo with my grandkids... gonna be 11 years. For me to be with them and learning together, it's great. It's beautiful. They're getting better. Used to be they forget themselves.

Chuckles

I received that deportation notice in 2009. Okay, get your knees together. -And now, knee rotations. Ready? -When he found out that deportation notice, it made him feel real bad about himself. I felt bad because of that. -If he were to be deported, I don't think we would go anymore. -And their life is upside down right now because of this. It tears them down... and it's hard for me to build them back up. It's my grandkids who keep me here......and my family. It's been hell......but I'm gonna......I'm gonna make it straight. -These uniforms are getting worn out, Manuel. -Can you iron my pants? -No, you iron in your own pants, Manuel. -

Laughs

-Matter of fact, I can pull rank on you, and you're gonna have to iron mine. -Well, you're not -- you're not a Marine, man. You can't pull no rank on a Marine. -As far as I can remember, I was always doing something to feed the family. When I joined the service, it was a relief for me. I had half of my paycheck go directly to my family. I didn't have my 10 siblings and my mother and father... worried about the food. -My brother -- he's older. He had more responsibilities. In the Mexican tradition, he's the one that's got to show us a way growing up. He did good, but once he came back from Vietnam, he's gone. I could see Vietnam come back to him to haunt him. -I received the letter in February. The first thought that came to me was..."Why me?" -Then he came running, and he showed his removal notice then. And he was an awarded Bronze Star. I mean, my God. -He says, "Wait a minute, brother." So he walks through the bedroom, and he comes out with the same piece of paper. -And I said, "Join the club, brother," and he looked at me like, "Whoa! You, too?" And we looked at each other like, "What did you do?" Misdemeanor, drunk and disorderly, 25 years ago. But what do you -- what do you expect from a Marine, to be an angel? -Manuel had a hard time adjusting to life after the war. He was convicted of battery, obstructing a police officer, and resisting arrest. All misdemeanors, minor offenses for which he paid a small fine. Valente also had run-ins with the law. Decades ago, he pled guilty to three misdemeanors -- one for assault and two for theft. These infractions eventually landed them in deportation court. And yet, misdemeanors are so common that if U.S. citizens face the same punishment, one out of every three Americans could be deported. -I said, "Brother, we're gonna have to fight this together." -And he says, "Let's put our uniforms on." I said, "Oh, man, let's go. I can still fit in mine. Let's hit the news." -Valente. -Got to see you. -Thank you for coming. -They learned that about 65,000 non-citizens serve in the military at any given time, and because of recent changes in national policy, many of them feel betrayed. -These veterans are in... Africa, the Caribbean, South America. Some of them are beggars. Their families are here in the U.S. -They still consider themselves as soldiers of America. -We feel that we are a hope for these brothers that have been deported. -The Valenzuela brothers have become leaders of a movement to stop the deportation of veterans. -Independence Day. Freedom we fight for. Ooh-rah! -And while we wait for the courts to decide whether the U.S. will take on a family-friendly path toward immigration reform, we must ask should the people who risked their lives to defend this country be forced to leave it?

Indistinct shouting

-And we travel wherever we have to go. We want to bring our deported veterans back to America where they belong.

Applause

-Whose streets?! -Our streets! -The misdemeanors -- that's a very minor issue, and, in fact, there's members of Congress serving today who have misdemeanors. -Too many veterans are dying without their families, without the country they fought for. -It's time for America to wake up. -We are a perfect example of how broken-down the system is, the immigration reform. -That system began to break down in the 1980s when some 22 million people came into the country, mostly from Mexico and Latin America. -All Americans, not only in the states most heavily affected but in every place in this country, are rightly disturbed by the large numbers of illegal aliens entering our country, and we must do more to stop it.

Applause

-President Clinton tried to do just that by signing the Illegal Immigration Reform Act, but the 1996 law had unexpected consequences. -Before 1996, for certain cases, judges could take into consideration service to the country, any type of medals of honor, moral character, longevity in the country, so they could take in consideration all of those things. But once 1996 occurred, they made more crimes fall under the "aggravated crime" category. They made more crimes trigger deportability, and because of that, more veterans were being deported. -Offenses like shoplifting and possession of marijuana became deportable violations. -Until that law changed in '96, again, there had never been a single case of a court ever in immigration court ever deporting a United States military veteran. Since '96, they've done about 4,000. -The new law was also applied retroactively. Veterans who committed offenses decades before the law was even passed were now being rounded up. -Most of them have seen combat in some fashion or other, and those kids are now coming home with post-traumatic stress. And they're getting into drugs, they're getting into alcohol, they're getting into bar fights. It's not the norm, but it's those who can't cope. -The scope of the problem is staggering. 18 veterans commit suicide every day, and about half a million struggle with PTSD. When citizen soldiers have run-ins with the law, they can get help from the VA, but non-citizen soldiers are simply deported. -I look at my hands, and they remind me of all these horrible things I did in Vietnam. -You want to put it out of your mind and put it as far away from you as possible, but it's never gonna leave you. No kid goes to war and doesn't come home unchanged. It destroys people. -Manuel has been rated by the VA as 60% disabled from PTSD. Valente's condition is even worse... 100% disabled due to severe post-traumatic stress. -I remember '68 was a very bad year. The Tet Offensive was going on. We were constantly being assaulted. And there was a lot of enemy killed at the perimeter. You had body parts all over the place. -We would go out with bags and just throw everything in the bag... and take them to the dump. You have a specific job, and you take it seriously. Every night when I had a chance, I would use my flashlight, and I would write everything I did that day and the things that happened to me and my experiences. -Every day, I sit down on the computer for hours on Facebook and Skype and talk to all the deported veterans all over the world. -Hi, how are you? -Pretty good. How you guys been doing? -Can't do a whole lot because of his PTSD, his service-connected disability and all of that. -Immigration told me I serve in the wrong war. -Man, that's a disgrace to all of us. -And when you go for treatment in the VA, the treat you like garbage there, also. -Well, you shouldn't be treated like that. -No. -You got my number now, my Skype. You're welcome to call me any time. -My daughter is 7 years old, man. I've been here four years. She's getting older, and I'm not there for her. I missed out on the best parts of her life, so I need to get my act together and work on my case, work on myself. -Most days, I can't even get out of bed, so... -So, you know, I want you to hang in there, okay? You know, I know what you guys are going through, and -- there's no words that I can describe how it feels. You know, it's ugly. I know the people are gonna step up. I know. We just got to just hit it hard, so keep your hopes up, alright? -Thank you so much, and good luck to you. -Our prayers are with you every night. -And our prayers are with you, too. -Zahid Chaudhry came to the United States from Pakistan in 1998 on a tourist visa. He met and married Ann, a U.S. citizen, in 2001... joined the army, and applied for permanent residency, envisioning a career for himself in the military. -Zahid went to boot camp in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. There was night training exercises where they would be running with what they call full battle rattle. He fell, and the soldiers trampled over him. And he's in a wheelchair now.

Light switch clicks

Sometimes, the back pains are just so bad, he cannot move. Before Zahid joined the military, he was volunteering for the Yakima fire department, also with the Red Cross, and that was just what he wanted to do to serve his community. -But his repeated applications for U.S. citizenship were denied... once for failing to disclose years-old misdemeanor convictions from his time in Australia... and again for allegedly misrepresenting himself as a U.S. citizen when volunteering for the Yakima Police Department. -This is the application for the Yakima Police Department volunteer position. This is the form that has gotten Zahid in trouble. His answers are marked in very neat X's all the way down. Whoever went through this form at the police department checking references made checkmarks -- checkmarks. The only other checkmark... is the very first question. "City of Yakima civil-service rules require some employees to be U.S. citizens. Can you provide such documentation?" The answer options are yes or no, and Zahid did not understand the question and, in fact, asked the police reserve officer in charge when he turned this application in to him what that meant. And the officer told him, "Just check yes," but he was still unsure. So he had left it blank, and it has been filled in with a checkmark, not an "X". And that is what has gotten him into trouble for deportation. You don't mind if I have a cup of coffee, do you? -No, please. -Alright. I didn't get married to live a world apart from him. Our family is here. Our children are here. Our grandchildren are here... and we want to be with them. It's not just Zahid... that's affected.

Door opens, beeps

-How are you doing, young lady? -Good to see you, Valente. How's it going today? -Put it there. Okay. -I'll tell her you're here. -Alright. Thank you. Well, it's cold outside. -Sure is.

Speaks indistinctly

-I was born in Palomas, Mexico. It's a little community across from Redford, Texas. The Rio Grande runs between them. Back then, there was no border, really. It was just the river. My mother was an American citizen. She decided to come home so her children could be educated on the American side. She would constantly remind us that we were U.S. citizens. -Okay, Valente. -Sure. -Hi, Valente, how are you? Great to see you again. We have been trying to work on proving that you're a citizen to prevent this deportation and to make all of this mess go away, so I have some important news I need to share with you. In order for you to be an American citizen, your mother had to have lived in the United States for 10 years before you were born, and 5 of those years have to be after she was 16 years old. So 5 years after her 16th birthday is 21 years old, so... -My mom was very happy that we were in the U.S., and she wasn't thinking about ever going back to Mexico. And she never did. -Your mother gave birth to you when she was 18 years old. Unfortunately, because you were born before she was 21 years old, the American government will determine that you are not an American citizen. You need to think, are you gonna be able to have a life in Mexico? How are you gonna manage the fact that you're not going to have access to VA benefits? I would just hate for Homeland Security to come to your home in the middle of the night and shackle you and put you in a detention facility and you not know what's going on.

Paper rustling

-I got a letter from the state of Colorado stating that... that Homeland Security said that there's a group of people that cannot vote in -- in the state of Colorado because they're not American citizens. -As the El Paso County clerk and recorder, I get list occasionally from the secretary of state that show individuals who are believed to be non-citizens who are registered on the voter rolls of Colorado. -And my name was on that list. -So you went to the Board of Elections Office? -Yeah. -A non-citizen voting is illegal. It's a felony, so we do take these issues seriously. -And I give them all their documents -- my mom's birth certificate, my birth certificate, my honorable discharge papers, my DD214, so they accepted me, see? -"Withdrawal of voter registration challenge." -Manuel presented enough information that I believed that he had a credible claim that he was a U.S. citizen. -You just got this in the mail? -Yeah, I just got this. -What is that? -This is a ballot for -- for voting. A lot of people told me, even officials, they said if I vote... the federal government can come after me because it's a felony. The United States government says I'm an alien. The state of Colorado says I'm an American citizen... and I can vote. So it's like... -Drop your ballot in there. And here's your "I voted" sticker. -Manuel could face eight years in prison if convicted by the federal government of illegal voting.

Clock ticking

-This is it. This is it. -So, what is that? -So this is the -- an answer from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for the Citizenship. Just gonna open it and find out what's going on here. -So, Ann, what does all this mean? -

Sighs

Citizenship is denied. Deportation at this point goes through. -That's the life. That's the life. -We'll make it through. -We have. -We'll make it through. -We always do. -

Chuckles

-It's okay.

Engine rumbling

-Sometimes, when things get too difficult, I get on my bike and just take off. I forget about all these problems that are going on in my life. And I feel free. And I ride for days. I have nothing holding me back. I'm not thinking about bad memories. And I value life very much. This is good therapy, and it helps me cope with life.

Crickets chirping

I usually pick out a good, safe area to set up my tent. It takes me back to Vietnam sometimes. I didn't know what CIA was, but I found out. -In 1967, the CIA created the Phoenix Program, a set of operations to assassinate or capture those with suspected ties to the North. According to one officer who testified before Congress, not a single suspect survived interrogation. All told, over 26,000 prisoners were killed. -These individuals would come in in choppers, and the moment they got off the choppers, they would put a mask on... to hide their faces. They would interrogate these prisoners. They were butchered. They were cut up, and... I just put the pieces together in body bags and... took them out to the common grave and buried them. You do this over and over and over, it becomes so normal.

Crickets chirping

I remember this incident clearly -- two interrogators and one Vietnamese interpreter, and one of them was careless. And the machete was taken away from him, and the prisoner got away and broke the light bulb. He had the machete swinging left and right in the dark, pitch-dark. I had my flashlight lighting my way down, so I went at him and I blinded him. Everything happened so fast. I...I was holding his head in my hand -- one -- one hand and the bloody knife in the other hand. -Did you completely take his head off? -Yes, completely. It goes on in all wars, and they always have a Valente to do the dirty work.

Birds chirping

-Friend of mine says, "I can get it wrapped for you," and I said, "What's wrapped is?" And he showed me pictures of RVs, how he wraps them, and I said, "You know what? I need that." I sent him all the pictures. Yeah, he wrapped it. I mean, it's nice. It's perfect. Right here is a website.

Speaks indistinctly

And, "Stop the deportation." People look at it down the road, and they say, "This for real? I don't believe this." But when you look at this... right here, disabled veteran. That's me. I hesitated, but they ain't -- they can't stop me from rolling on the streets with this RV. It's mine, and I paid for it. And so I said, "You know what? I'm gonna do it." So I'm gonna be headed to Washington, D.C., with this RV to give a letter asking Trump to stop the deportation of military veterans and their families and bring them all back home. I want all the people of the United States to see this when I'm on the road. -It's a 1,600-mile drive from Manuel's home in Colorado Springs to the White House. But along the way, he decides to stop outside of Chicago to visit his friend Olivia Segura. Her daughter was killed in combat while serving in the Iraq War. -She gave her life to save the other soldier, and she didn't make it back. She's a hero. Is hard to see what Olivia is going through. She's always been hurting and crying. I mean, she suffered a lot. -Olivia's husband, Alberto, nearly drank himself to death with grief. Arrested on a DUI, this Gold Star father has been incarcerated for nearly two years awaiting deportation. -Oh, you cold, huh? -Ah. -You okay? -I'm from Colorado. You know that. -

Chuckles

Oh, my God. It's so good to see you. My daughter was only 20 years old when she was deployed to Kuwait. She said freedom and democracy was not free and that it was her responsibility as a U.S. citizen to protect her family and the people of the United States. Oh, my God. I like it. -When people pass me, they -- they know it's from Vietnam. -

Speaking indistinctly

Thank you for putting "families." Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Because you are my voice. -Yeah. -Yeah. -You are our voices. -You know, I made sure that that was in there. And guess who's there. -Oh, my God, that's my daughter! Oh, my God! I remember this black truck parking in front of my house and ringing the doorbell, and I see two men in uniform. And they asked me if I was Ashley's mother, and I say, "Yes." -And this is you and your daughter, and I do tell everybody what happens, you know, the families right here, what's happening. -Muchas gracias. Muchas, muchas gracias. -

Speaks Spanish

-Yeah, I know. -Okay? -So I remember asking them, "Please, please tell me that she's okay. It was just an accident, right? She's okay." And they said that no, that she died.

Sobbing

And then I just remember not knowing what to do. I just came down in tears, and I start, like, screaming and going crazy with this hopeless feeling. So hopeless because I didn't know how to protect her. Just after my daughter died, my husband start drinking. I used to -- to blame him for our daughter's death. And you can go around. She's buried right there. By this tree. Well, thank you. You know, that's not that many gentlemen in the world. -Yeah. Where is it at? Where's she at? -And I start telling him a lot of bad things like, "I wish you were dead instead of my daughter." I didn't see my husband for the next two months. I thought that he finally has given up in this family. -Just put that right there. Oh, that's nice. -Finally, I receive a phone call saying that he was -- that he was in jail, that he got pulled over the same day that he left because he was driving and drinking and he was picked up by ICE to be deported. Over here is where I used to find my husband crying and drunk. He used to just, like, be sleeping over here. And even in the winter, he was, like, very, very drunk, you know, crying and crying and crying. -He took it real hard. -Yeah. -And that used to break my heart because I-I felt, like, so hopeless, you know, like -- like I'm -- I'm not only losing my daughter, I also losing him. -He carried a lot of load. -Yeah. I mean, it was really, really... really bad, and then now with the deportation, it's getting worse. You know, it's like when this is gonna end? And as a Gold Star family, it hurts the most because -- because all this is the result of the sacrifice that my family made for this country because this is a direct result of the service that my daughter give. Well, we're gonna keep fighting, Ashley. We're gonna keep you fighting not only for your dad, but also for the deported veterans so this nightmare ends. -You know, we're going to fight harder now. -Yeah.

Engine rumbling

-While Manuel heads east to Washington, D.C., his brother Valente is going south to Mexico... to self-deport and live in exile. -You don't know until you personally receive a deportation what it does to you. It turns your world apart. I was thinking I'm going to go to El Paso, Texas, through the same bridge where we... came across when I was 7 years old, and I'm going to wear my uniform, take all my medals, and climb up on the rail on the fence and... and dive down... ...down the bridge. -Kill yourself? -Yes. Either you come in or you go out, and I was going to choose my way of going out with the American flag. There's no word how we feel. The last thing we thought when we go to bed is... we're on removal notice. The first thing that when we wake up, we're on removal notice. That's like being in a prison, you know? I'm incarcerated. You know, this is -- this is not what America is supposed to be. You know, this is shameful for America. Over there is the United States. This is Mexico here. And for me to be carrying these medals, it doesn't seem right.

Water splashes

-There's a lot of negative things going on in this world that's not right. I know that I cannot fix everything, but... little by little, each step that I take... it creates a ripple. It gets bigger and bigger. I have grandkids. I love spending time with them. I want to give them a gift... ...and that gift is that when they're alone, they're not gonna be scared to walk with strength. People are gonna challenge them to do something wrong. They're gonna have the strength to say, "No, this is my path, and this is the way I was taught to do right." I'm doing that. -I moved to Chihuahua, Mexico. The reason I moved is because... I didn't have to be looking over my shoulders... ...worrying about immigration officials picking me up. And I've decided to finish my book. But now that is finished, I...I'm more at ease. Welcome to my office. My flag. I've been getting some advertising of the three newspapers here in Chihuahua. This one came out seven days ago. Here's another article. "The history of a veteran of war." This is me when I was 19 years old. I have books here that came in -- that came in three days ago, and these are my books. The reason I took so long is because... each time I read in my diary, I would have nightmares, and sometimes I had tears come out of my eyes. I would have to stop and not look at my diary for... months, sometimes. Finally, I finished. I feel like I'm free. -It's been six months since I send a letter to President Trump, and I have not heard. He has not responded. -But -- But other people have responded. -And other people have responded to this issue. My name is Manuel Valenzuela. -Uh-huh. -There's veterans deported all over. We need them back home, and we're looking for the next 2020 president of the United States to step up to the plate the second he's president -- or she.

Laughter

Maybe by God's gave me the gift to be here for you, and you're the first one. Hopefully, a woman will clean up the man's mess.

Cheers and applause

I would love to have the words said, "Senator Warren is the one, Elizabeth, that said, 'The second I am president of the United States, I will pardon every veteran that has been deported from this country, not just that, their families, and bring them all back. And from from here on, no military veteran will ever be deported.'" We owe them that, and that's -- -And my props to you.

Applause

When I'm President of the United States, no military veteran will ever be deported. You served your country, and bring them back home.

Applause continues

-To date, no legislation has passed to protect veterans and their families from deportation.

Applause continues

-I met Griselda a year and a half ago. For two months, she read my book over and over. She did the final editing and gave it form. I proposed, and sure enough... She fell in love with me, and I fell in love with her. You know, I'm -- I'm at home.

Indistinct conversation

Uh-oh. Uh-oh. I'm gaining a little weight.

Mozart's "A Little Night Music" plays

Sighs

Oh, man.

Engine starts

Camera shutter clicks

Applause

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Speaks Spanish

Applause

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Speaks Spanish

Applause

Camera shutter clicks

Chatter

Crickets chirping

-Manuel continues to live in Colorado, where he still fights to leave no soldier behind, even as his own case remains in legal limbo. In Chicago, Albert Segura was recently released after being imprisoned for over three years. He and Olivia are trying to build a new life together. -And in Lacey, Washington, Zahid and Ann Chaudhry eventually won their case, as well. And while Zahid is in declining health, he was recently granted permanent residency. But thousands of other veterans, many with distinguished records, remain in exile. -After all the U.S. did to you and your brother, I'm just curious, why are you still hanging that flag? -When I raised my hand... to protect the Constitution of the United States, which is the same thing as the flag, it's in my heart. And -- And I will protect this flag until the day I die. This flag has not done anything to me...negative. It's the people who are running the government, and... I'm proud of the flag. -Man, I'm so very happy. I'm proud of you, President. Semper Fi.