COLORADO SPRINGS - They put their lives on the line to serve and protect the country and now two Vietnam vets are being told they are no longer welcome in their own country.
Brothers Manuel and Valente Valenzuela both served in Vietnam, one a decorated member of the Army the other with the Marines. The brothers are just two of five in their family who served in the military for the United States.
Their family arrived in the U.S. when the two brothers were very young, Manuel only three-years-old. They tell NEWSCHANNEL 13 they were proud to be able to give back to their country by serving.
The brothers showed us all of their documentation, everything from social security cards to honorably discharged papers from the military. They thought they were legal U.S. citizens and had nothing to worry about. However, at the beginning of this year, the two received a new kind of document from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, threatening to deport them to Mexico.
"Back in February I received this note for deportation," Valente said. "I felt like I lost part of my heart - I'm a U.S. Citizen."
The brothers say they were shocked by the news, and knew they didn't have the money or the time to be able to fight it. They say the deportation documents stem from former criminal charges of domestic violence and resisting arrest from a decade ago. The brothers claim they did their time for the crimes and thought it was a closed case. Now, they may be forced to leave their families in Colorado Springs.
"I built something here," Manuel said. Manuel works as a TaeKwondo instructor while his brother is continuing to rehab from injuries he suffered in Vietnam. Valente gets benefits from Veterans Affairs and continues to see doctors for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.
"We are entitled to work in this beautiful America because we served the country and I gave my life for that," Manuel said.
The two brothers are running out of time and could be deported as early as next year.
