Thursday, June 23, 2011

War Hero Fighting Deportation Over His Passport Application

Veteran Now Fights Deportation, Accused of Lying on Passport -- New York Times

MIAMI — A veteran of both the Army and the Navy who served with distinction in Iraq and at Guantánamo Bay has spent the last month in federal lock-up here because the government wants to deport him

Not only did he lie on a passport application, prosecutors say, but he was never even a citizen.

But a lawyer for the man, Elisha L. Dawkins, 26, has a different story, one that begins with Mr. Dawkins’s arrival here from the Bahamas as an infant. He was raised to believe he was a citizen, his lawyer contends, something the state and federal authorities did not challenge during his seven years in the military.

Read more ....

Update #1: Decorated Iraq War Victim Elisha Dawkins Sits in Miami Jail for Lying on Passport Application -- Miami New Times
Update #2: Veteran may be deported for passport lie -- UPI

My Comment: This is wrong on every level, but unfortunately for Elisha L. Dawkins, the law is the law. I pray and hope that the prosecutors will agree to a pretrial diversion program so he can avoid a conviction.

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