On A Mission To Leave No Veteran Behind: Robert Vivar

09/28/19 • 20 min

Democrats Abroad Hispanic Caucus Podcast

Barajas, Héctor: U.S. Army. Sabal, Roman: U.S. Marine Corps. Bailey, Howard: U.S. Navy. What do all of these people have in common? They've all veterans who've been deported. But not just them -- it's estimated that the true number of deported veterans is in the thousands. Michael Ramos, chair of the Democrats Abroad Hispanic Caucus, and Michael Lee, chair of the Democrats Abroad Veterans and Military Families Caucus, co-hosted this episode with a special guest located only steps away from the U.S.-Mexico border who's been fighting on behalf of America's deported veterans. While most veterans are just as patriotic as you and I, because they don't have a birth certificate that says the were born on U.S. soil they've been under relentless attack and deported to countries most of them have no knowledge of, no fluency with the language, and no known safe-haven connections. With seemingly no compassion for U.S. veterans despite many of them having shed blood and served in combat missions, they are still taken by the federal government to the border as a final "thank you for your service" goodbye message. Working tirelessly on repatriating our nation's veterans is Robert Vivar, co-director of the Unified U.S. Deported Veterans Resource Center based in Tijuana, México. Robert is a true activist who's been doing whatever it takes to get our nation's men and women who previously served in the military to allow them back into the United States to reunite with their families and loved ones, in addition to securing them a legal immigration status. Robert has organized petitions, communicated with members of Congress, partnered alongside other organizations, tracks the latest in court cases involving veterans and citizenship -- and still somehow manages to be a first point of contact for U.S. veterans shoved through the doors to Tijuana and provide them with needed resources and support. The bottom line is that deporting veterans is not in the best interest of our country. Thankfully, there are several take-action initiatives Americans abroad can take such as registering to vote, voting from abroad, contacting legislators, signing petitions -- and encouraging other Americans to do the same. Have a listen to this emotional episode and remember these former service-members not just on Veterans' Day, but every day until our government makes the needed reforms to provide our veterans with the legal status, VA benefits, and care that they deserve. Participants in this episode: Michael Lee (Germany), Thomas López (Australia), and Michael Ramos (Australia). Podcast music provided by Carlos Colao (Spain).

Previous Episode

United We Dream's Cynthia García, A Key Resource For Educating Immigrant Communities

This week the Democrats Abroad Hispanic Caucus caught up with United We Dream's (UWD) Deportation Defense Manager, Oklahoma-based Cynthia García. As the nation's largest immigrant youth-led organization, UWD's García spoke to us about a variety of topics we've all been hearing about in the news: the Trump Administration's view on immigrants and people of color, family separations and child detention centers, ICE raids, and more. Sibling co-hosts Amerika García-Grewal and Michal García (no relation to the guest) added their thoughts on how the issue of youth detention centers really resonated with reflections of their childhood hometown back on the Texas-Mexico border. A DACA recipient herself, Cynthia and UWD are truly needed within immigrant communities in educating Latino families on their rights and providing those threatened by deportations with helpful resources. Have a listen to this episode and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments box below! Hispanic Caucus participants in this episode: Amerika García-Grewal (Fiji), Michal García (Canada), and Carlos Colao (Spain). Podcast music provided by Carlos Colao.

Next Episode

"My main message to Democrats Abroad is to go out and vote." -- Bill Richardson

Governor Bill Richardson, a childhood role model of DA member and podcast host Sam Stone and so many other Americans, joined us to talk about the opportunities third culture kids have, his work with the Inter-American Dialogue, how important it is for politicians to remember we're a community of nations, and the importance of exercising the right to vote. We discussed our relationships with our nearest and largest trading partners in the Americas as well as sanctions in North Korea and the Rule of Law as it applies in the US and around the world. With strong stances on climate change "It was wrong to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, it’ll adversely affect humanity" and with compassion for the most vulnerable nations on our planet, this podcast is a must-listen for all members of the Hispanic Caucus and Democrats Abroad. This episode of the Democrats Abroad Hispanic Caucus was cohosted by Amerika Garcia Grewal in Fiji and Sam Stone in Mexico, with special thanks to Madeleine Mahony of Gov. Richardson’s staff. 2020 is just around the corner and all Americans living outside the US should request their absentee ballot every year. Please mark your calendar or go to PledgetoReg.org to pledge to register to vote and request your ballot.