Does service for our country outweigh legalities? It looks like the answer is no.
Federal authorities have deported a military veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan... but was later convicted of drug crimes.
In a statement released Sunday, officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, said immigration agents returned 39-year-old Miguel Perez Jr. to Mexican authorities on Friday.
He was convicted in 2010 of manufacturing or delivering more than two pounds of cocaine in Cook County, Illinois.
Perez's lawyer, Chris Bergen, said the man was left with no money and only his orange prison uniform. Perez had lived in the United States as a legal permanent resident since age 11.
"He was dumped in one of the most dangerous areas of the Mexican border," Bergen said. "We will continue to fight his case and appeal his citizenship denial."