When we think of those people who are deported from the
U.S., we often have images of undocumented
Latinx folks from Mexico and Central America.
In reality, many Black people are among those
who are deported, and some of them have served
in the U.S. military.
Yes, if you can believe it. Hundreds if not thousands of military
veterans who are not American citizens have been deported
after serving this country. This includes
Black people who were enlisted servicemembers
and were promised citizenship. And they were
later sent to the Caribbean, Africa, Europe
and elsewhere after living in America for
years and risking their own lives in the
military. They want to return. And why
shouldn’t they?
One of those is deported David
Bariu. Bariu was in the country with an F-1 student visa and,
not unlike others, was promised a path to
citizenship, education and the GI Bill. But
ICE picked him up during a naturalization
interview, and a Black man who fought for
America was thrown out of the country.
“I served in the US Army active duty from 1999 to 2001.
Also served in the USAFR from 2002 to 2007.
Honorably discharged. I was detained by ICE
from 2007 to 2008 before deportation to Kenya,
East Africa. POTUS Joe Biden government
recently promised to repatriate deported US
Veterans. Some of the Veterans have gone back
but none from Africa,” Bariu said.
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Bariu has applied for citizenship, but says the process is
long. Meanwhile, the Army recruiter who lured
Bariu with deceptively false promises was
court-martialed.
There are no official records of the number of Black
deported veterans. However, there are names
such as Rudi
Richardson in London, Jeff
Brown and Charlie
Brown in Jamaica and others. “Others reside in Dominican
Republic, Trinidad and Haiti. In Africa some
are in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Tanzania,”
Bariu said. “And the stories go on. We need to
be heard and brought back home.”
The situation facing deported veterans
reflects a larger legacy of racial
discrimination and injustice against Black
veterans and other veterans of color. “How
this country treats Black and Brown veterans.
I’ve never met a White deported veteran,” said
Amos Gregory, co-founder of The San Francisco Veterans Mural Project, also known
as Veterans
Alley, a community based mural project located in the
Tenderloin District of San Francisco. Gregory has been advocating for the
return of Black deported veterans, who have
not received the same attention as Latinx
veterans.
“When you look at the statistics for unhoused veterans, 40
percent are black. When you look at the GI
bills, the VA loans and predatory banks not
lending to Black people, and Black families
could’ve been living in those houses for
generations, but they didn’t get it because of
the banks,” Gregory added.
Since the very earliest days, Black people have fought for
an America that never fought for them, and the
country will use them and spit them out. After
serving the empire and serving their purpose
for Uncle Sam, these Black vets are cast
aside. We must bring them back.
