Iraq War Navy Veteran Faces Deportation From US After Years of Drug and Weapons Convictions

• Benito Miranda Hernandez, a Navy veteran who served three tours in Iraq, is currently held at the Otay Mesa Detention Center pending possible deportation
• His mother, Maria Miranda, says her son returned from his deployments a changed man, citing what she described as systemic failures in veteran care
• Veteran advocate Hector Barajas, who was himself deported before returning as a US citizen, is now pushing back against the removal of service members

A Navy veteran who completed three tours of duty during the Iraq War is detained at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in California and faces possible deportation to Mexico, where he has not lived since childhood.

Benito Miranda Hernandez and his mother, Maria Miranda, entered the US from Mexico as green card holders when he was still a young child.

He later enlisted in the Navy and served during the Iraq War. Court records show he subsequently accumulated an extensive criminal history, including felony drug and weapons convictions and multiple probation violations across Virginia and California, for which he served years in prison.

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Maria Miranda says the man who came back from deployment bore little resemblance to the child who had left. Speaking in Spanish, she said to NBC News: "When he came back, that's when I said, 'This isn't my son anymore.' He wasn't even a shadow of the little boy who left."

She stopped short of excusing his conduct, but placed it in the context of what she believes combat exposure did to him. "All they taught him there was to shoot," she said. "They took him to Iraq and taught him that. I don't justify it. I know that what he did was wrong. But he had to survive."

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Hector Barajas, a former Army veteran who was himself deported from the United States before eventually being permitted to return and granted citizenship, is now among those advocating on behalf of service members facing removal.

Barajas confirmed that Hernandez has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"He does have PTSD, he served during wartime and that's something that he struggles [with]," Barajas said, arguing that the military's failure to adequately support returning veterans contributes directly to the difficulties many face reintegrating into civilian life.

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Barajas drew attention to broader patterns affecting veterans with mental health conditions. "We have homeless veterans.

We have veterans that take their lives," he said. "Having a mental health issue and issues with the law — it does happen, and we have to learn how to take care of them, not deport them and throw them away, you know?"

Hernandez's case highlights the legal vulnerability of non-citizen service members, who can lose permanent residency status and face removal proceedings following criminal convictions, regardless of their military service record. His current immigration status and the timeline for any deportation decision had not been confirmed at the time of publication.

Source: YEN.com.gh