MEDIA ADVISORY April 11, 2018

CONTACTS:
Edward Sifuentes, ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties esifuentes@aclusandiego.org
619-501-3408
Heidi Martinez, Honorably Discharged, Dishonorably Deported Coalition heidi@sdpartners.org
760-505-8067
David Colker, ACLU SoCal Communications & Media Advocacy communications@aclusocal.org
213-977-5252, 626-755-4129 (cell)
Hector Barajas, Deported Veteran Support House banishedveteran@yahoo.com
626-569-5491

Deported Army Vet Hector Barajas to be Sworn In as U.S. Citizen Press Conference to Follow Private Swearing-In Ceremony

SAN DIEGO — Hector Barajas, the founder and director of the Deported Veterans Support House in Tijuana, will be sworn in as a United States citizen on Friday, April 13. He is the first known deported veteran to be naturalized as a U.S. citizen due to his honorable wartime service. He has been living in Mexico the last eight years.

What: Immediately following the swearing in, which will be private, Hector Barajas will be greeted by friends and supporters, and he will be the featured speaker at a press conference.

When: Friday, April 13, at about 10:30 am (depending on possible delays in processing).

Where: Outside USCIS Field Office 1325 Front St, San Diego, CA 92101.

Who: Hector Barajas and members of the Barajas family. Also James A. Erselius, from Latham & Watkins, who represented Mr. Barajas pro bono with the ACLU; Congressman Mark Takano; Norma Chavez-Peterson, Executive Director of the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties; and Nathan Fletcher, chair of the Honorably Discharged, Dishonorably Deported Coalition.