RUSK, Texas — Julio Torres, a local pastor and veteran, is back in East Texas with his family after spending a week in an immigration facility.
Torres was detained at the airport after flying back from Mexico, despite his U.S. citizenship. Torres told agents he was a combat veteran, having fought in the Iraq War, but an agent at ICE detention center dismissed his service.
"One of the agents told me that did not matter, that I needed to stop calling myself a veteran, and that I have no special privileges."
Immigration attorney Gilbert Urbina. who serves as the executive director of the Hispanic American Association, pointed out that what happened to Torres is not uncommon.
"It’s a very common case of people who served the U.S. in the military, and they've done their best, because the immigration system and the way the rules are set up, it affects them," Urbina said.
Torres added, "They said that some charges I had in the past, they said those were the reason why I was not allowed."
After fighting in the war, Torres suffered from PTSD as well as addiction, but he turned his life around. He’s now a pastor at the Covenant Church of East Texas in Rusk, chaplain for local jails and volunteer at the food pantry.
"Those are things that are favorable for him to show good moral character," Urbina said. "Judges want to see that and they will weigh that: what happened in the past , against the improvements a person has made, and whether they deserve to maintain or keep their residency.”
Despite being home with his family, Torres still doesn't know what his status is and what comes next.
"I'm still scared. My daughter keeps saying are you home? But I know in the back of my mind I don't know for how long," Torres said.
Torres hopes his story will help others like him.