Enrique enlisted right out of high school telling his family he wanted to be a badass marine. Enrique semper fi always. Male service in the persian gulf war, medals for sea service and marksmanship, Enrique Salas excelled as a us marine. But now at age 46, hes forced to rent a single bear cinderblock room on the north side of tijuana, earning about 100 a week and struggling with ptsd. Despite his troubles, Enrique Salas told us he remained loyal to the United States and to the fellow us marines he served alongside for years. Male do you still consider yourself an american . Enrique yes, very much so. Male even though you sit right here . Enrique even so. It doesnt make any difference, you know. My loyalty is to United States. Hector barajas my allegiance to United States is male another loyal soldier, Hector Barajas, also exiled in mexico. Hector well, i was born in mexico, but my allegiance and who i choose to die and fight for is the United States of america. Male barajas too enlisted right out of high school. Trained as a us army paratrooper, Hector Barajas, won many commendations and medals for his service with the 82nd airborne. After his honorable discharge, barajas was stunned to learn that he was being deported, forced to leave his young daughter behind in california. Hector cause i was still kind of in disbelief because iyou know, i thought because i served, theyre going to let me go. Male Hector Barajas and Enrique Salas were both deported under a 1996 Immigration Law which triggers removal of immigrants convicted of committing certain crimes even after they serve time in a us jail or prison. We documented more than 300 such veterans deported under this policy. Hector so as i started doing digging deep, deeper and deeper, there was more people. And then im seeing all these combat veterans that have served in afghanistan, that were drafted into vietnam and its just it still blows me away. Male to help all those vets survive in mexico and get medical and legal help, hector created the bunker in tijuana where he met Enrique Salas and stephanie. Hector pastor salazars daughter died recently. So theyre going to bury her next week. Shes also a marine. Male the bunker also became a safe house and resource for other deported us veterans, veterans like retired marine, tony romo. Tony romo its just like prisoners of war. You know, all of us together. Male retired us marine richard aviva. Richard aviva ive never lived in mexico. Ive been in the United States since i was 1 year old. How can they repatriate me to a country that ive never lived in . Male and armando scott. Armando scott all the deported veteran, i will bring them home. All of them back. Male our investigation found 70,000 noncitizens enlisted in the us military between 2009 and 2016. At least half of them never applied for citizenship according to the center for naval analyses. That leaves them vulnerable to deportation under the current us policy. Hector i dont think its rightbut, you know, thats the law. Just because the law is the law doesnt mean its just we had slavery at one point. We hadwomen couldnt vote. Male for Enrique Salas, the law caught up to him when he lost his wallet on a family trip to tijuana, a simple thing that changed his life. Stephanie the border patrol, he kind of just looked at my dad as a criminal. Enrique i believed i had paid my debt, you know, by being, you know, in custody and doing my probation and everything. That was the last thing that would cross my mind, that they would put me in cuffs that morning. Stephanie it was really hard. I had school that day and then, you know, my life completely changed from then on. Caesar lopez im facing 5 years in federal prison male as our investigation continues, we follow immigrant veterans who are willing to risk everything for a chance to stay in the United States. Satchel paige was still dominating batters at 59. At 52 celia cruz was still winning grammys at 77 john wheeler illuminated our ideas of the universe at 70 and roger crouch was 56 when he first went into space your best is yet to come male while some that struggled to live in Foreign Countries after theyre deported, our investigation also discovered veterans who challenged the law by staying in the us and living under constant threat of deportation. Male we want to stay at home and caesar to me, this is the worse dishonor that you can do to a country. Male a deportation order hangs over caesar lopez after he pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana. Caesar the glue that is holding you together as a nation, you starting to erode that by deporting those men that were willing to give their lives for you. Male despite the risk, lopez refuses to leave the United States. Caesar im facing 5 years in federal prison if i get caught. Manuel valenzuela all my family is there. Theyre devastated. Male Manuel Valenzuela fought in vietnam. Manuel so much they took away from me. Male he and Four Brothers all served in the us military. Manuel forty years of service to this country to be treated like this . Male he says a conviction for drunk and disorderly after a bar fight triggered his deportation order. Manuel thats not right, and im not going to allow this until the day i die. Male Joaquin Sotelo served in the us navy in the persian gulf after 9 11. After his convictions for drug possession and domestic violence, he now fights his deportation case in court. Joaquin sotelo every step i take depends on deportation. Its just like its like a cancer, you know. Its hunting me. Male sotelo worries every day that hell lose his children. Joaquin i dont believe that us veterans should be going through this. Male if a deported veteran dies, they can be brought back to the us and buried in a Military Cemetery like this one in san franciscos presidio, but until then they are barred from entering the country. Male thats because of a policy enacted during bill Clintons Administration that says immigrants can be deported if they commit any number of crimes called aggravated felonies, but that term can be misleading because it includes offenses like drug possession and failure to appear in court. Enrique change this policy, you know. If were willing to give our lives for this country our country, you know, let us stay. Let usyou know, we do make mistakes. We make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. Male Enrique Salas and Hector Barajas were both deported for aggravated felonies. Salas had drug possession charges. Barajas fired a gun out of a vehicle. Both had served time in the us for their crimes. Sharon ramarie well, if youve been convicted of certain defenses, its a deportable act. Male even if youve served as a veteran . Sharon oh, thats right. Yes. Male sharon ramarie represents the us citizenship and immigration services, the federal agency in charge of citizenship. While officials with the department of defense declined our request for an interview, ramarie did agree to sit down with us and answer our questions. Sharon the law does not exempt you if you are a veteran. Male does that seem fair . Sharon we dont ask ourselves whats fair or not fair. We simply are here to administer the law. Thats what were charged with. Thats what we do. Male however, our 3year investigation found that ice officials do not always follow the law or their own policies. More on that later. Back in tijuana, Hector Barajas and the other deported vets hatch a plan to get back to the us. They will ask california governor jerry brown to pardon their crimes. Hector to get that pardoned, youmostly, guys, i think you should be able to you should be able to get your citizen safety with me. Male theyll take their plea to the white house, too. Hector were going to have to readwere going to reach out to Trumps Administration and to him for cause he can make an executive order. He can pardon some of the guys as well. Nathan fletcher we want this fixed and we want it fixed now. Male after learning of the plight of barajas and other deported veterans, Nathan Fletcher, retired us marine and former california assemblyman, begins using his clout as a military and legislative veteran to help win those pardons. Nathan every day that goes by is another day that theyre living in isolation, another day that theyre living in poverty, another day they are unable to access the healthcare theyre entitled to and the benefits theyre entitled to, another day that their children are growing up without their parents. Male together, Nathan Fletcher and Hector Barajas launch a Worldwide Campaign to let every deported us vet in every foreign country know there are those here in the us who are grateful for their service. Nathan but a grateful nation is supposed to offer them a path to redemption and rehabilitation, not a path to deportation; and i think this is one of the greatest injustices that ive seen particularly when it comes to veterans. Male we followed their journeys for years. Hector thats why i believe in america, and i think that we will change this. Enrique let us continue and be patriots, and we love our country. Male now, both men are about to escape exile and come home, but in dramatically different waves. The ones that make a truebeen difference in peoples lives. And mikes won them, which is important right this minute, because if he could beat americas biggest gun lobby, helping pass background check laws and defeat nra backed politicians across this country, beat big coal, helping shut down hundreds of polluting plants and beat big tobacco, helping pass laws to save the next generation from addiction. All against big odds you can beat him. Im Mike Bloomberg and i approve this message. Male its late 2017, another year in tijuana coming to an end. Enrique and the other vets are still living in exile in mexico, but now theres hope as the vets await the results of their request for pardons from governor jerry brown. Male do you look forward to a future now . Enrique yeah. Male youre a positive guy, right . Enrique very positive. I got to stay positive, you know. Im in mexico, you know. Were trainedas marines, were trained to adapt and overcome. So, thats what im doing right now. Male more hopeful than ever that the tide could be turning in his favor, enrique celebrates his 46th birthday with family. Then stephanie delivers big news. Stephanie dad, i wanted to tell you something. Male stephanie and her husband are expecting a baby, enriques first grandchild. On easter sunday, april 2017, governor jerry brown comes through announcing a series of pardons for deported veterans. Among those to win the governors attention and get clemency, Hector Barajas. Hector everybody got some really good news. Im over here with Nathan Fletcher and i got a pardon from the governor of california. Male now hector can apply for us citizenship. Hector and a couple of other brothers also got it. Male two other veterans also get clemency Erasmo Apodaca and marco chavez, but Enrique Salas does not. Male you angry . Enrique no. Male really . Enrique anger doesnt help, you know. I dont want to show them that im angry. I want to show them that no matter what happens in your life, you always have to stay positive and do what you need to do. Male for Hector Barajas, the path to return to the country he served grows shorter, but the wait seems longer than ever. As he applies for us citizenship, weeks turn into months. Then just about a year later comes the news hes waited half a lifetime to hear. Hector barajas has formally been approved by the Us Government to become a citizen. Barajas is allowed to return to the us where he formerly takes the oath to become a citizen. Hector dear heavenly father, i want to thank you today for the opportunity to be home with my family and male cut off from his family in california for 14 years, Hector Barajas is now ready for a new start on life. Hector my dream is to put my daughter through college, find a job, continue to help others. Maybe male even through his good fortune, barajas remembers those left behind and vows to keep fighting to bring all fellow deported vets home. Hector i think i can hopefully make a better impact on this side of the border but also in mexico because im also mexican citizen. Male back in mexico, Enrique Salas so close to realizing the same dream as Hector Barajas instead meets tragedy. Driving across a bridge, enrique crushes his car down in embankment. The accident seriously injures him and lands him in a mexican hospital. Stephanie and her family rush across the border to be with him. Stephanie and i feel like at that moment he was just like, get me out of here. Male with time running out, stephanie battles the bureaucracy to get her dad back across the border to an american hospital. Stephanie calling congress saying like, hey, theres a deported veteran that needs help. Male meanwhile, doctors in tijuana perform a minor surgery on enrique. Stephanie during the surgery, my dad had a heart attack. Male finally after 13 days, stephanie says a woman in the va showed mercy and gave the approval they needed to transport enrique in an ambulance back to the us to try to save his life. Male as stephanie and her family fight to save Enrique Salas, we also follow Hector Barajas as he takes his battle against deportation to the nations capital. Hector my name is Hector Barajas. I am a us veteran who was deported to mexico in 2004. Shouldnt mean a change in standards. Thats why thanks to you were rated number one in Customer Satisfaction by j. D. Power. Male even as Enrique Salas hangs on to lifetisfaction in a san diego hospital, his prognosis remains bleak. Stephanie they started doing more for him in those couple of hours that we were there than thatthose almost 2 weeks that we were in the mexico hospital. Male a host of critical injuries added to that 13day wait to enter the us took their toll. Stephanie i mean, at that point, it was too late. Male less than a day after authorities let him return to the us, Enrique Salas died. Stephanie i mean, i wish there was Something Else i could do. Like, my dad didnt deserve to go out the way that he did. Even till his last day, he considered the us his home, like his country. Male he was a proud marine. Stephanie he was the proud marine always. Always a proud marine, and for the country to turn their back on him like that mark takano should make every american angry. Male Riverside County democratic congressman mark takano chairs the House Veterans Affairs committee. After learning of Enrique Salas death, takano visited the bunker in tijuana. Mark it was heartbreaking. Male that prompted congressman takano to ask ice for account of all us veterans whove been deported. Mark and they werent able to tell us because as it turns out, ice and dhs, they dont follow their own procedures. Male your reaction to that . Mark well, it was one of anger and disbelief. If anybody deserves closer scrutiny in the deportation proceeding, its somebody whos been a member of our armed forces. Male according to this report by the Government Accountability office, the gao, the investigative arm of congress, ice did not consistently follow its own policies involving veterans. In some cases, agents were unaware the policies even existed, and some veterans who were removed may not have received the level of review and approval that is appropriate for cases involving veterans. David jennings theres definitely room for improvement, but male David Jennings serves as Field Office Director for ice enforcement removal operations in northern california. Jennings says the gao merely found a lack of documents and electronic data, and jennings says auditors could not point to any specific case where a veteran was deported who should not have been. David the fact that no one pointed out some glaring case that was just hanging there, id like to think the officers and managers around the country are making really good decisions on these. Male how can you assure that ice will consistently handle veterans cases Going Forward . David so Going Forward, were going to have to go with the recommendations, the training, reiterating that it needs to be asked and answered. Male partially in response to our reporting over the last 3 years, some congressional representatives have now introduced several bills that would protect immigrant veterans from deportation. Among those bills, congressman takanos hr 4890 which already has attracted nearly three dozen cosponsors. If passed, this bill would legally recognized military service as a sacrifice that demonstrates loyalty to the us and would grant noncitizen veterans equal benefits and rights as citizen vets. Male you swear or affirm under penalty of perjury male with dozens of fellow vets still in mexico, Hector Barajas went to d. C. In support of those proposed laws. Hector i want to emphasize that i am a Firm Believer in people being held accountable. Being a veteran does not mean that you havethat you get a free pass and never have to pay the consequences. Male it had been a long road. Eighteen months after getting clemency, a little more than a year after he officially became a us citizen, the former us paratrooper went before congress to testify. Hector under todays laws, most deported veterans only come home to america with an American Flag draped around their casket like Enrique Salas. Male thats right. As Hector Barajas testified on capitol hill, Enrique Salas came home in a casket. Stephanie its just so frustrating that now after all these years and now after its too late for my dad, like that these things are coming up. Male now buried in a Military Cemetery south of fresno, enrique, proud marine, proud family man, never got to meet his namesake grandson, august enrique. Stephanie you know, i dont want it to be too late for other families that are going through the same thing. Nathan we will bring their dead body across the border, we will go to a Military Cemetery, we will give them a 21gun salute, we will play taps, we will fold the flag, and a military officer will hand the flag to the Family Member and say, a grateful nation appreciates your husbands service. If we had 300 americans who were missing, we would stop the gravitational spin of the earth to bring them home because we made that commitment that everybody comes home. But here in this case, we have hundreds of American Veterans who are not allowed to come home. Doprevagen is the number oneild mempharmacistrecommendeding . Memory support brand. You can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. The 49ers come this week following one of the best games in 49ers history. 4846 win over the the new orleans saints. Hey everyone. Laura britt here with 49ers game plan brought to you by zenni. The win on sunday not only important as far as the playoff picture goes, it also held a lot of meaning for the york family. The game was played one day after the one Year Anniversary of the death of tony york, the brother of 49ers ceo jedd york. Head coach Kyle Shanahan recognized the importance of the day and honored the family in a special day. We talked about it yesterday. This was a special day for a number of reasons. We knew how important this game was but also how it was to our team. The yorks. Heavy hearts today. We know what theyve been through for the last year and i promise you, doc, jedd, hes down watching you. I guarantee he helped us today. I know theres five of you