“I don’t make enough to fix my teeth,” said Guillen. If I was over there, north of the border, all I would have to do is make an appointment, here I can’t do that.”

UPDATE: Deported veteran Marcelino Ramos has returned to the U.S. after living in Juarez for the past six years. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — For the past six years, Marine veteran Marcelino Ramos has been living in Ciudad Juarez along with more than 25 other deported veterans. They are just some of the hundreds of […]

“Now come to find out that it looks like the charge he was deported for may not have been a deportable charge,” said Vivar. “Because he didn’t have legal representation during his immigration proceedings, he ended up getting deported.”

LULAC, the nation’s largest and oldest Latino civil rights organization, believes the U.S. can do more for deported veterans.

The faces of 24 U.S. military veterans are part of a mural now on display near Chicano Park just east of Downtown San Diego. All have been deported and remain exiled in countries around the world including Mexico, Kenya and Costa Rica.

A veterans rights activist, whose life is deeply rooted in the military was finally allowed to cross the border from Mexico into California after almost 20 years.

The people who run the U.S. Deported Veterans Resource Center in Tijuana believe there are at least 1,000 military deportees living in some 40 countries, at least several dozen in the Mexican state of Baja California. On Wednesday morning, some of them were allowed to return to the U.S. if only for a brief period of time. They were given permission to cross the border through the San Ysidro Port of Entry so they could get their COVID-19 vaccinations.

While in Mexico, Ocegueda applied to become an American citizen after connecting with a group for deported veterans. Under U.S. law, veterans who served honorably during a conflict are eligible to become citizens if they meet a series of requirements, including undergoing an interview with a citizenship officer.

Hector Ocegueda-Rivera wanted to head to an interview in Los Angeles with immigration officers so he could become a U.S. citizen — but since he was deported to Mexico, he couldn’t get back in the country to do so.

Hernandez-Mata served in more than 100 combat missions for the U.S. Army and when he left the service, he expected to be granted U.S. citizenship. Instead, he was deported after being convicted of drug and firearm possession.