Hi John,

Ivan Ocon, a brave Army veteran who was unjustly deported six years ago, has returned home and was sworn in as a U.S. citizen in El Paso, Texas, today.

"This is an emotional day, and I'm so grateful to be reunited with my family. I want to thank everyone who worked on my behalf over the last six years to make this moment possible. This country is my home, and I will continue to fight to make sure that other veterans like me get the justice they deserve," said Ocon.

For decades, long-term members of our workforce, our communities and our unions have fallen victim to our nation’s broken immigration system. This has led to the shameful deportation of hundreds of U.S. military veterans, many of whom served our nation in combat.

“Justice has finally been served for Ivan and his family, and we look forward to helping more of our deported veterans return home where they belong,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “A few years ago, I was part of a labor delegation that visited the border where we met with veterans in Juarez still proudly wearing their U.S. military uniforms, despite being unable to cross into Texas. We immediately knew we had to take action. Deporting people who have risked their lives to defend our democracy is disgraceful, and unions are determined to right these wrongs.”

In 2021, the AFL-CIO Executive Council launched a campaign—under the leadership of the Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO—to end these injustices, bring our deported veterans home, reunite families, and prevent further efforts to criminalize and tear apart immigrant communities.

As we celebrate this victory, we reaffirm our commitment to repatriate our deported patriots and prevent a further miscarriage of justice. Service members must no longer be failed by the country they valiantly served, and we will do everything in our power to help them.

In Solidarity,

Team AFL-CIO

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