A Mexican U.S. veteran got deported following his conviction for a minor offense. Fifteen years later, after getting pardoned by a California Democrat, a judge ruled to allow his return.
Marco Chavez was not born in the United States but lived here since he was baby. He served four years in the Marine Corps and got honorably discharged.
In 1998, Chavez got convicted of animal cruelty for a dog beating. He claimed a different person was responsible for it.
Sentenced to two years in prison, they released him 15 months into his sentence because of ethical behavior and got deported afterward. Arriving in Mexico forced him to learn Spanish and find work in a land he could not call his own.
“Life is possible in Mexico, but it’s not comfortable,” said Chavez, who found work as a security guard and used his English to find work as a call center operative in Tijuana. “Now I understand why everybody tries to cross by any means possible.”
The Mexican-American is looking forward to reuniting with his three sons whose childhoods he missed. Since he’s moving to Iowa this December, he hopes to see them by Christmas.
He and his ex-wife tried to make everything work out. Initially, the whole family moved to Tijuana to be together, but life was too hard. The schools weren’t as good, and jobs were scarce.
The last time he saw his kids was in 2013. They are now 17-21 years of age.
“One of the things I wanted to let my kids know is they did have a father, and I did not plan to leave them,” Chavez told The Associated Press on Monday. “That wasn’t part of the plan with me and my ex-wife. I just want to be there to support them. They still might have resentment, but that’s understandable.”
The Tijuana-based Deported Veterans Support House has documented at least 301 cases of veterans getting deported to some 30 countries. At least 20% of those are Mexican.
The Mexican Marine’s case gives hope to similarly deported veterans. Chavez “served our country, earned a pardon and deserves to come back home,” said Governor Jerry Brown, who pardoned him.
Article inspired by ABC // Deported ex-Marine wins case to return to US from Mexico