Army veteran deported after drug conviction now a citizen

By The Associated Press

Posted October 4, 2019 6:14 pm.

This article is more than 5 years old.

CHICAGO — An Army veteran deported to Mexico in 2018 after being released from prison on a drug conviction says he has become a U.S. citizen.

A spokeswoman for Miguel Perez Jr. says he was informed he is now a U.S. citizen early Friday.

Perez Jr., who was raised in Chicago, had a green card. But after serving 7 1/2 years for a 2008 nonviolent drug conviction, the 41-year-old was deported last year. He was granted permission last month by immigration officials to re-enter the country for another chance to become a U.S. citizen. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker pardoned him in August.

Perez Jr. joined the Army before 9-11 and served with a Special Forces unit in Afghanistan. He suffered a brain injury while in the war zone.

Perez Jr. had been living in the Mexican border town of Tijuana following his deportation.

The Associated Press

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