Without a Country: The Untold Story of America’s Deported Veterans

In this searing exposé, journalist Garcia (What Wars Leave Behind) tells the stories of noncitizen U.S. military veterans deported by the very country for which they were willing to lay down their lives. Speaking to the veterans themselves and to their families, Garcia illustrates the injustice in human terms. There’s Neuris Feliz, born in the Dominican Republic and sent to Iraq as a member of the National Guard in 2004, who drank heavily after his return to escape his memories of combat and, after being arrested for assault, was eventually deported. Then there is Manuel De Jesus Castano, an Army vet who died of Lou Gehrig’s disease in his native Mexico. Story after story makes it plain that the U.S. immigration system has little mercy for people made doubly vulnerable by their lack of citizenship and the often grisly tours of duty they served. Though there are occasional bright spots, these are few and far between. “Only a cognitive disconnect could allow us to put people in uniform and not treat them as our own,” the author declares. Few readers will disagree by the book’s end. Garcia’s timely work of reportage shines a light on the harsh treatment being shown to a group of American servicepeople. [em](Sept.) [/em]