CHICAGO (AP) – An Army veteran from Chicago who served two tours in Afghanistan and had been in the U.S. since age 8 has been deported to Mexico because of a 2008 drug-trafficking conviction.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed Monday that 39-year-old Miguel Perez Jr. was deported Friday. The move came after he lost an appeal to remain in the U.S. and Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner refused to pardon him.
Perez had a green card and the Chicago Tribune reports that he had been in the U.S. since he was 8 years old. He says he mistakenly thought he became a U.S. citizen when he took an oath to protect the nation.
Authorities say Perez handed a laptop case containing 4.4 pounds of cocaine to an undercover officer on Nov. 26, 2008. He pleaded guilty to the drug charge and ICE took him into custody after he served half of a 15-year prison sentence.
ICE officials say Perez was flown from Gary, Indiana, to Brownsville, Texas, where officers escorted him across the border and turned him over to Mexican authorities.
