Soldier served in Iraq but may be deported

A stronger and wiser Army Pvt. Juan Escalante has arrived home in Seattle from Iraq. His courage has deepened. So has his appreciation for simple things: his mom's flour tortillas and carne asada; maneuvering his Acura instead of a Humvee.

Dog-tagged and shorn-haired, the 19-year-old is like many other soldiers, sailors and airmen settling into civilian life, except for one key fact: Escalante is an illegal immigrant. Unlike the tens of thousands of noncitizen soldiers, so-called "green card" military folk widely praised by President Bush since the Iraq war began, Escalante fits into an entirely separate and unrecognized group.

Escalante was 4 when he and his parents entered this country illegally from Mexico. When he graduated from high school, he bought a fake "green card" and joined the Army. He trained as a mechanic, and when the majority of his unit got deployed to Iraq, Escalante says he volunteered to join them. He was in Iraq and Kuwait for four months.

Now military authorities must decide whether a U.S. soldier who has served in Iraq ought to be discharged, which could lead to deportation. Moreover, Escalante's parents are fighting immigration officials who seek to deport them. If they go, so too will their two younger children, Irvin, 12, and Tesoro, 10.

There are 37,401 noncitizens in the active-duty military. Some 3,000 have served in the war against Iraq. But it's not known how many soldiers may be illegal immigrants.

Army spokesman Joe Burlas at the Pentagon yesterday said there are no undocumented or "illegal aliens" who have enlisted. He later added, "If there are any illegal aliens in the Army, they have fraudulently enlisted. When they're caught, they are discharged from the Army."

However, among those killed in Iraq was one such "green card" soldier, Jose A. Gutierrez, who the Los Angeles Times reported had entered the U.S. illegally and then lied to secure legal residency.

Army officials say they are investigating Escalante's case and won't comment.

Immigration lawyers and experts argue the law has long allowed noncitizens who have served honorably during a time of combat to be eligible for naturalization. Executive Order 13269, signed by President Bush on July 3, 2002, provides for expedited naturalization for those active during "Operation Enduring Freedom."

That would include illegal immigrants who may have gotten into the military somehow, said Margaret Stock, professor of law at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Escalante, she said, has "been proving his loyalty to America." As for his family, they, too, should be eligible for lawful permanent residency, she said. "Frankly, there ought to be a rule that if you have a family member in the military, they shouldn't be able to deport families of a soldier."

Escalante, seated in his living room, dressed in his preferred baggy civilian clothing, arrived home at South Park on Saturday. The military, he explains, was his only option after graduating from Chief Sealth High School in 2002.

His mom, Silvia, works as a cook for Norstar Specialty Foods. His dad, Bernardo, works days in shipping-and-receiving for RPM Merit, and at night cleans office buildings. Juan Escalante says he had always planned to leave home at the age of 18 to help alleviate costs.

Last year, Escalante, who'd like to go to college, decided to join the military when a best friend enlisted. The Marines, Escalante thought, would be "too dangerous." So he chose the Army. He knew he'd need immigration papers, so he bought a fake U.S. residency card.

"I wasn't trying to get into trouble," he says. "All I was thinking about was getting in. I thought they'd check everything."

One week later, Escalante announced to his family he had joined the Army and was headed to Fort Knox, Ky., for basic training. Then came more advanced training, and when he arrived at Fort Stewart, Ga., in April, he learned most of his unit had already been deployed to Iraq. His supervisors told him he had the option of joining them.

"I didn't want to feel dumb," Escalante says. "I wanted to meet everyone in my unit, so I said, 'I'll just go. Who cares?' " He was 18 at the time, the youngest person in his unit, he says.

He left voice mail at his parents' home, letting them know he was on his way to Kuwait. Bernardo, his dad, took a wallet-sized photo of Juan in the Army's green uniform and had it enlarged and framed. Silvia placed it prominently on a shelf in the living room.

By that time, Bernardo, 41, and Silvia, 37, had already contacted immigration authorities, having decided to become legal residents. The law allows undocumented people to become permanent residents if they've lived in the country for more than 10 years, have good moral character and can prove a U.S.-born dependent would be subject to extreme hardship if deportation were to occur.

On April 29, they told their story in a Seattle immigration courtroom to Judge Anna Ho, arguing they should be eligible to stay in this country after living here 15 years.

They have no criminal record and have permission to work here. They own a three-bedroom house. Their two U.S.-born children are still in school. Moreover, they noted, their eldest, Juan, happens to be fighting on behalf of the United States.

Ho denied the Escalantes' petition, saying the court was sympathetic to the family but the parents had failed to show how being sent back to Mexico would cause exceptional hardship to their younger children. Her written decision also shows she wasn't convinced Juan Escalante was in the military because they didn't provide evidence as to how he enlisted.

The couple, represented by attorney Glen Prior of Fife, appealed the case to the Board of Immigration Appeals. It could be months before the parents' case is resolved.

While still in Iraq, Juan Escalante says an inspector general questioned him about his enlistment. He said he told him about the fake green card. Then, for the next couple of months, he continued his duties: repairing vehicles; standing guard; driving units.

The most frightening moment, he recalls, was hearing how an officer's vehicle was bombed and his leg had to be amputated. The surreal: fixing a Humvee in which a soldier had just been killed; being smiled and waved at by so many Iraqis.

"I felt like I was in a scene in the movie," he says.

Everybody who went to Iraq, Escalante says, risked their lives. His experience was no different from, no more special than anybody else's.

What makes him proud, though, is that his Army uniform now features the blue-and-white combat patch.

"You walk around and everybody knows. There are some people in the Army who have been there 20 years, and they don't have a combat patch."

It's 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Escalante is splayed out on his living-room couch. Mom Silvia is still at work. Dad Bernardo will soon head off to job No. 2. Irvin walks in and plops the mail on the TV. Tesoro is outside riding her bike.

For today, Escalante's most pressing issue: how to sell his 1995 Acura so he can buy a Honda Civic and drive back to Georgia.

Florangela Davila: 206-464-2916 or fdavila@seattletimes.com