A deported Marine Corps veteran who has been blocked from
returning to the U.S. for more than a decade was denied entry on Monday
for a citizenship interview, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Roman Sabal, who is from Belize, reportedly reached the
San Ysidro Port of Entry in California on Monday morning with his
attorney, Victoria Starrett, and requested that he be allowed entry to
go to a naturalization interview in San Diego later that day.
Border officials, who are able to temporarily let people
into the U.S. for “humanitarian or significant public benefit,”
ultimately turned him away, the Union-Tribune reports.
When he first came to the U.S., Sabal, now 58, had a
tourist visa and couldn’t stay permanently, the newspaper noted, adding
that his goal from the beginning was to enlist in the Marine Corps.
He joined the service with a fake ID document, the
Union-Tribune reported. The newspaper added that when he came clean
about it in boot camp, he was told, “Don’t worry about it. You’re a
Marine now."
Sabal served in the Marines for six years and then for
several more years in the Army Reserves, the newspaper reports, adding
that he was later honorably discharged and returned to Belize because he
had developed diabetes and sought treatment from his mother back home.
An immigration court judge ordered Sabal to be
deported after he didn't show up for a hearing when he tried to return
to the U.S., the paper reports.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials on
Monday reportedly sent Sabal and Starrett back to Mexico, where Sabal
plans to wait a few days for a solution before being forced to travel
back to Belize.
“His attorney was notified that he should work with the
Department of State to obtain the necessary documents for entry rather
than seeking parole from CBP,” a U.S. Customs and Border Protection
spokeswoman told the Union-Tribune.
Sabal’s attorney, however, said he already tried to get a
visa through the State Department, which denied the request because of
the deportation order.
ICE did not comment when contacted by The Hill.
Sabal is one of seven deported veterans with pending
citizenship cases, Starrett told the Union-Tribune. He has two children
who are U.S. citizens, and his partner, whom he hopes to marry, is also a
U.S. citizen.
0 Comments