Veterans who are in Mexico after being deported complete the first phase of a project in Washington this week in which they use murals, which have been installed in various cities, to remind President Joe Biden of his promises of repatriation and of family reunification
“The mural, with the faces of deported veterans, also of people who have not been military, but who have also been expelled from the country, and of dreamers is a project that we decided to remember to President Biden his campaign promises, “the coordinator of the plan, Robert Vivar, told Real America News.
The first mural was installed in the offices of the Borderline Crisis organization near the migrant camp in La El Chaparral gatehouse, then he crossed the border to various cities.
“We installed one in Bakersfield, another in Fresno, another in Ventura, we had a mobile one in Santa Monica; We have been to many cities, ”said Vivar.
The installation of the mural “Leave no one behind” has been featured in every city with the support of organizations such as Veterans for Peace, Repatriate Patriots and the Immigration Justice Network, among others.
The plan is to finish before the first hundred days of government of President Biden, with the installation of one more mural in the country’s capital.
“It is to draw the attention of President Biden and his administration about fulfilling their campaign promises,” said the coordinator.
He mentioned, among other things, “the promise of repatriation of deported veterans, and the promise of family reunification.”
The murals show a coalition of people who for different reasons were expelled from the United States.
They include faces of art ists, deported mothers, dreamers, young people who failed to enroll in DACA before they were deported, and also military, deported veterans.
This Tuesday at the Peace Monument in Washington presented the only mural that is different from all the previous ones, because it is the face of Laura Meza, the only woman veteran of the armed forces who has been deported.
Meza, a Costa Rican, arrived at the country at 5 years of age, obtained legal residence at 21 and joined the armed forces, was raped by her companions and, in her opinion To remove her from the possibility of complaint, they sent her to Iraq, from where she returned with sexual trauma and post-traumatic stress that was not treated.
She left the armed forces with honors, but over time Still under the stress of war, he pleaded guilty to theft and possession of a quantity of marijuana that is now legal in many states. She was deported because she was a legal resident but not a US citizen.
In Ventura County, a veteran for Peace, George Sandoval, installed one of the murals and explained that the deported soldiers “They went to Vietnam , to Afghanistan, to Iraq; they were in combat. Some were injured, some have serious injuries. And then they were deported for a variety of reasons. ”
Sandoval said that President Biden’s administration should know that most deported veterans, like Laura Meza,“ came to the country very small and in In reality, the country they fought for is the only one they know and love. ”
Meza, by the way, said in written statements that he hopes to return“ to the United States, which is my country, to the that I will always want and respect, it does not matter if I never return, although I long to be there. ”
Sandoval said he hopes that the murals will help raise awareness among the people, while Vivar hopes that it will also motivate people to actively participate to return veterans to their families.
“Call your congressmen, send you emails, raise your voice. That they no longer let this community of people who fought for the country and those who arrived during childhood face further delays to return to the United States ”, said Vivar.
The participants wait, after speaking with legislators, that at the end of the first 100 days of President Biden’s administration, a group of congressmen present an initiative that, if approved, will allow deported veterans to return to the United States, many of them to obtain benefits from the Administration of Veterans.
Vivar said that the mules project will serve to prepare the presentation of this initiative, the first that will explicitly ask that deported veterans return to the side of their families.