Miguel\u2019s father invited me to a Veteran\u2019s Day celebration \u2014 at Manuel Perez Jr. Plaza in Little Village where his son was honored \u2014 and to Miguel\u2019s military funeral at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery on Friday.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, I watched elected officials offer gifts to Miguel\u2019s family. U.S. Congressman Jesus \u201cChuy\u201d Garcia presented the family with an American flag, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth shared a framed photo of a picture she took with Miguel in her D.C. office.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiguel responded to extreme hardship with courage and determination,\u201d Duckworth told the audience. \u201cHe took responsibility for his mistake. He paid his dues to society and he dedicated himself to serve his fellow immigrant veterans who have been left behind by the country they were willing to defend with their lives. If you sign up to fight for this country, you should be able to count on your country fighting for you, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duckworth has a long history fighting for Miguel. In 2019 she celebrated Veterans\u2019 Day in Tijuana, Mexico<\/a>, with Miguel and dozens of other deported veterans.<\/p>\n \u201cHe could have been bitter after what he was forced to endure. But that wasn\u2019t who Miguel was. No, instead he chose to continue fighting for this country. This country that had betrayed him. He turned around to continue his service advocating for his fellow immigrant veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n Duckworth said Miguel inspired a package of bills<\/a> the senator has introduced in every Congress since 2017. The bills aim to prevent deporting U.S. military veterans and to allow deported veterans to obtain visas so they can access medical services in the U.S.<\/p>\n Miguel\u2019s deportation could have been avoided. During his two tours in Afghanistan, former President George W. Bush promised expedited naturalization<\/a> for active military like him. But that did not happen.<\/p>\n Miguel returned home with a traumatic brain injury. His oldest daughter Daycee remembers the difficult transition.<\/p>\n \u201cI noticed that my dad had a lot of paranoia \u2026 lots of paranoia,\u201d Daycee said. \u201cHe\u2019s like \u2018where is that phone? Where\u2019s that ticking from?\u2019 And there\u2019s nothing on. It\u2019s like 6 in the morning and we\u2019re all sleeping. What do you mean you\u2019re hearing a ticking? I witnessed a lot of things.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Family members of U.S. Army Veteran Miguel Perez Jr., father Miguel Perez Sr. and daughter Daycee Perez.<\/p>\n The 28-year old spent her teenage years without her father, and having a father crippled by PTSD has forced her to grow up quickly. She told me she forgave him. She shared stories of how close they were; how they used humor, their common language, as a way to bridge the gap; and how they feasted on burgers from Maxwell\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was young when he had me, we were raising each other,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Miguel sought help but his injuries weren\u2019t physical and they weren\u2019t as visible as they were for other veterans around him at the veteran\u2019s hospital. He started self medicating with drugs, which eventually led to a seven-year prison sentence. As a legal permanent resident, the felony conviction made him eligible for deportation.<\/p>\n Miguel was a deeply traumatized person.<\/p>\n When he was deported in March 2018, I was one of the first people he called. He feared returning to a country he left as a boy, and I promised I would visit. The following year, I traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, and witnessed the depth of his PTSD.<\/a> I watched him shake uncontrollably and heard about his sleepless nights and demons from war he could feel lurking in the background. He walked around the border city hypervigilant of sudden movement. We sat on his balcony hearing waves from the nearby Pacific Ocean as he described the struggle of wanting to die as a way to stop the pain.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n