[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2686]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       JUSTICE FOR A VIETNAM VET

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 18, 2011

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I recently introduced a private bill (H.R. 
730) on behalf of a Vietnam War veteran, Fernando Javier Cervantes.
  Mr. Cervantes legally entered the United States when he was only 7 
years old and has not lived anywhere else since. He has been a legal 
resident for over 48 years and is married with two children. In 1972, 
Mr. Cervantes voluntarily enlisted into the United States Army and 
honorably served during the Vietnam War, earning a National Defense 
Service Medal. At the time of enlisting and throughout his service, 
Fernando was told that he would become a U.S. citizen by serving in the 
Armed Forces. In July 2008 he was surprised to hear that this was not 
the case and immediately applied for citizenship. Unfortunately, 
Femando's application was denied due to a minor drug possession charge 
that he received during his difficult readjustment period after 
returning from Vietnam.
  Today, Mr. Cervantes is drug-free and is committed to recovery. If 
deported to Mexico, Mr. Cervantes would not have any familial or 
community support to recover from his addiction. His entire family 
resides in the United States as either legal permanent residents or 
United States citizens. Mr. Cervantes demonstrated permanent allegiance 
to the United States by voluntarily enlisting into the United States 
Army and putting his life on the line to make sure we have our freedom. 
We must allow him the freedom to live in the country he served.

                          ____________________