Thursday, March 19, 2015

Change.org To Feature Brothers Valenzuela In Email Campaign

San Francisco, California - Change.org selected a petition to the President of the United States to stop deporting U.S. Veterans and Bring deported veterans home.  


my san antonio.com
Specifically, the petition is designed to stop the unfair harassment of two Viet Nam veterans, Manuel and Valente Valenzuela.  The Valenzuela Brothers found themselves in removal or deportation proceedings after applying to renew their driver's licenses.  The Brothers have lived in the U.S. nearly all of their lives and have a U.S. citizen mother.

Valente Valenzuela arrived in 'Nam shortly after the Tet offensive.  Valente soon found himself working in a section of the military whose activities remain secret today.  Valente says he still suffers nightmares from his experiences.



Latino Fox News.com
Manuel soon followed Valente to serve the U.S. performing rescue services for at-risk military teams.  Like his brother Valente, Manuel put his life on the line in active duty combat situations.  Many soldiers never returned from theater, others returned severely maimed.  The brothers took that chance supporting the country they call home.

Upon return from Viet Nam, both Valenzuela Brothers suffered the disgrace placed upon them by U.S. citizens angry at the Johnson Administration for it's escalation of the war.  A soldier who places his life on the line has no say in how and where he is deployed, yet one of the brothers remembers clearly having human feces thrown at him upon his return to the U.S.

Please sign the petition to stop deporting veterans and bring deported veterans home!  Stop the injustice to the Valenzeula Brothers and all veterans!




Life continued for the Valenzuela brothers for many years.  Each brother encountered minor skirmishes with the law as they dealt with their memories and trauma of life and death in a war zone. Each brother worked hard to follow the rule of law set down in the U.S., especially in the 911 environment.  What a surprise was in store for the brothers when they renewed their driver's licenses.  They received a notice to report to Homeland Security.  From there, deportation cases were opened on the elderly Viet Nam vets.

That is when the Brothers Valenzuela, as they like be called, found out they are not the only soldiers to face the wrath of aggressive actions by the Department of Homeland Security.  Many soldiers have been deported.  Homeland Security says they don't really know how many, because they don't keep statistics on who is a veteran and who is not, when they institute deportation proceedings.


Fabian Rebolledo, Getty Images
I had the chance to meet Fabian Rebolledo when I traveled with the Valenzuela brothers to the border to conduct a protest over the deportation of veterans.  

I will never forget the interview I did with Fabian's son who had an extremely difficult time talking about what could happen to his father.







   
You can help return deported veterans by signing the petition from Change.org




Soon after our return to Colorado, I heard Fabian had been deported.  Subsequently, I received many emails expressing Fabian's frustration and desperation at being parted from his family as he tried to cope with an unknown and hostile country.  
Rebolledo fought in Bosnia Herzegovina.  His memories of that war zone are horrific.  Few people have any idea how brutal the Slobodan Milošević had been.  But then, few people realize what happens in a war zone on all sides of a conflict.



Barak Obama Wikipedia
The Valenzuela Brothers are asking the President to stop deporting U.S. veterans and bring deported veterans home.

Manuel says, when a permanent resident raises his hand to swear an oath of allegiance to the United States of America, and stand by that oath with his life if he needs to, then that makes him a U.S. citizen.  The swearing in process is the same for a soldier as it is for all immigrants when they naturalize.  Yet the country these soldiers defended, has turned it's back upon these soldiers and deported many.

You can help the Valenzuela brothers and all veterans uphold the honor of serving God and country by signing the petition.  Further action can be taken by calling your senator or congressman and demanding a halt to the deportation of veterans and to bring deported veterans home.




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