[{"command":"settings","settings":{"pluralDelimiter":"\u0003","suppressDeprecationErrors":true,"ajaxPageState":{"libraries":"core\/picturefill,entity_embed\/caption,views\/views.ajax,views\/views.module","theme":"hrw_design","theme_token":null},"ajaxTrustedUrl":[],"views":{"ajax_path":"\/views\/ajax","ajaxViews":{"views_dom_id:blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__305173__en":{"view_name":"blog_live_feed","view_display_id":"blog_body_block","view_args":"305173","view_path":"\/blog\/content\/305173","view_base_path":null,"view_dom_id":"blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__305173__en","pager_element":0}}},"user":{"uid":0,"permissionsHash":"0ae5601d8790ff50fca3cf23b9ac9170285f2f75823ebdc8d9cc054bc03a679b"}},"merge":true},{"command":"add_css","data":"\u003Clink rel=\u0022stylesheet\u0022 media=\u0022all\u0022 href=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/css\/css_reI-6YIYy-k9pvxm-gaCRrn5cSrTZRtyAMrp4YXDUJw.css\u0022 \/\u003E\n"},{"command":"add_js","selector":"body","data":[{"src":"\/sites\/default\/files\/js\/js_VkK39bvB4H6LLVemwPFz8QWcUMTFqZ3FFo_LBVv_4vs.js"}]},{"command":"insert","method":"replaceWith","selector":".js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__305173__en","data":"\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-view-dom-id-blog_live_feed__blog_body_block__305173__en\u0022\u003E\n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n\n \u003Cdiv\u003E\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Cdiv class=\u0022blog-block__content__description rich-text pt-6 mb:pt-10 mx-auto\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EAfter serving in the Army in Guam during the 1990s, Sergio H. received an honorable discharge and opened an auto body shop in Dallas. He worked hard all his life, he says, to raise two United States-born children, one of whom is now a pediatrician, the other in business administration. But like many aging veterans, Sergio, now 50, has struggled with drug dependency.\u003C\/p\u003E\u0026#13;\n\u0026#13;\n\u003Cp\u003EHis dependency worsened in 2012, he told us in Nuevo Laredo, and two years later, Sergio was convicted of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. He received parole after serving two-and-a-half years of a five-year sentence. \u201cI\u2019m clean now,\u201d he says. \u201cThe worst thing is that I wasted years of my life.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u0026#13;\n\u0026#13;\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022embed\u0022 data-type=\u0022image\u0022\u003E\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022embed align-right embedded-entity embedded-entity-type-media embedded-entity-bundle-image embedded-entity-viewmode-embeddable embed--right\u0022\u003E\n \n\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \n \n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\u0022figure figure--expand text-center\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022figure__media relative inline-block mx-auto\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ca href=\u0022\/modal\/32296\u0022 rel=\u0022modal:open\u0022 class=\u0022figure__link\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cimg srcset=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/480w\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/201706us_mexico_sergio.jpg?itok=WsEFyypY 480w, \/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/embed_xxl\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/201706us_mexico_sergio.jpg?itok=EvIZ4BH5 850w\u0022 sizes=\u0022(max-width: 524px) 100px, 500px\u0022 data-responsive-image-style=\u0022embedded_images\u0022 src=\u0022\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/embed_xxl\/public\/multimedia_images_2017\/201706us_mexico_sergio.jpg?itok=EvIZ4BH5\u0022 width=\u0022850\u0022 height=\u0022638\u0022 alt=\u0022Sergio H. speaks with Human Rights Watch researchers at the Instituto Tamaulipeco in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.\u0022 loading=\u0022lazy\u0022 typeof=\u0022foaf:Image\u0022 \/\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022figure__expand absolute block bottom-0 right-0 w-8 h-8 bg-white text-gray-700\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022sr-only\u0022\u003EClick to expand Image\u003C\/span\u003E\n \n\n\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\u0022icon fill-current w-full inline-block\u0022\u003E\n \u003Csvg viewbox=\u00220 0 20 20\u0022 fill=\u0022currentColor\u0022 role=\u0022img\u0022 focusable=\u0022false\u0022 aria-hidden=\u0022true\u0022\u003E\u003Cuse xlink:href=\u0022\/themes\/custom\/hrw_design\/dist\/app-drupal\/assets\/spritemap.svg?cacheBuster=#sprite-expand\u0022\u003E\u003C\/use\u003E\u003C\/svg\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/a\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022figure__info text-left font-serif text-xs md:text-sm lg:text-base mx-auto text-gray-700 mt-1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022figure__caption\u0022\u003ESergio H. speaks with Human Rights Watch researchers at the Instituto Tamaulipeco in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. \u00a9 2017 Human Rights Watch\n\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003C\/figcaption\u003E\u003C\/figure\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\u0026#13;\n\u0026#13;\n\u003Cp\u003EService in the US armed forces is often a pathway to citizenship for people who hold green cards \u2013 permanent resident visas \u2013 but it didn\u2019t work out that way for Sergio. Green-card status can be revoked for various reasons, including a drug offense. So Sergio went straight from prison to an immigration detention center near Houston. He stayed there eight months, waiting out immigration court hearings. \u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u0026#13;\n\u0026#13;\n\u003Cp\u003EBecause Sergio\u2019s mother was born in the US, his lawyers explored whether he might in reality be a US citizen. But he didn\u2019t quite fit the criteria; his mother moved to Mexico with her parents when she was too young. His legal options exhausted, Sergio was loaded into a van full of deportees and driven across the border to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.\u003C\/p\u003E\u0026#13;\n\u0026#13;\n\u003Cp\u003EA growing consensus in the US holds that harsh criminal drug laws and policies \u2013 including disproportionately severe sentences \u2013 are doing more harm than good. For immigrant families, the consequences can be especially devastating. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/report\/2015\/06\/16\/price-too-high\/us-families-torn-apart-deportations-drug-offenses\u0022\u003EWe have found\u003C\/a\u003E that the US is deporting large numbers of immigrants like Sergio \u2013 both permanent residents and the undocumented \u2013 for minor or old drug offenses. Many have strong family and community ties to the US, and some \u2013 like Sergio \u2013 have served in the armed forces.\u003C\/p\u003E\u0026#13;\n\u0026#13;\n\u003Cp\u003EEven as Sergio completed paperwork in a deportee reception center in Nuevo Laredo, he spoke as though he were still back in the US.\u003C\/p\u003E\u0026#13;\n\u0026#13;\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI was ready to give my life for this country,\u201d he told us. \u201cI still am\u2026 it\u2019s my country.\u201d\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u0026#13;\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \n\n \n \n\n \n \n\u003C\/div\u003E\n","settings":null}]