He Has A Purple Heart & Is A Convicted Felon. ICE Wants To Deport Him

Summary

Summary of "He Has A Purple Heart & Is A Convicted Felon. ICE Wants To Deport Him" The NPR Politics Podcast - April 7, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The NPR Politics Podcast, hosts Asma Khalid, Ximena Bustillo, and Tom Bowman delve into the intricacies of the U.S. deportation system through the poignant and complex story of Jose Barco. This narrative not only underscores the human element behind immigration policies but also highlights systemic challenges within the deportation process under the Trump administration.

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Background of Jose Barco

Arrival and Military Service

Jose Barco's journey to the United States began at the tender age of four when he and his Cuban parents fled to Venezuela before ultimately immigrating to the U.S. (Tom Bowman, [01:18]). Growing up in America, Barco enlisted in the U.S. Army at 17 and was deployed to Iraq in 2004. During his first tour, he endured a suicide car bomb attack that left him with severe burns and a Purple Heart (Tom Bowman, [02:00]). Despite exhibiting signs of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and PTSD, his conditions went undiagnosed initially, leading him to self-administer anti-anxiety medication.

Determined to serve again, Barco returned for a second tour in 2006, where repeated concussions and intensified combat exposure exacerbated his mental health issues. Concurrently, he initiated the naturalization process through the Army, a pathway often touted as expedited for military personnel. However, due to administrative mishaps, his citizenship application was lost, leaving him uncertain of his legal status (Tom Bowman, [03:00]).

Criminal Conviction and Imprisonment

In 2008, shortly after his discharge from the army, Barco's unresolved TBI and PTSD culminated in violent actions. At a party in Colorado Springs, he discharged a handgun, resulting in severe injuries to a pregnant woman and facing multiple charges, including attempted first-degree murder. Initially sentenced to 52 years in prison, Barco was released on parole for good behavior in January 2025, a day after President Trump's inauguration (Tom Bowman, [03:51]).

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The Deportation Process and Barco's Case

Immediate Detainment by ICE

Upon his release, Barco was swiftly apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and detained (Tom Bowman, [03:54]). His case exemplifies the Trump administration's aggressive stance on immigration, promising the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history. This move targets individuals like Barco who, despite military service and heroism, fall into deportable categories due to criminal convictions (Asma Khalid, [00:44]).

Complications in Deportation

Barco's predicament is further complicated by international relations and the willingness of other countries to accept deportees. Initially slated for Venezuela, Barco's departure was thwarted when Venezuelan officials questioned the authenticity of his Venezuelan citizenship, suspecting his birth certificate to be forged (Tom Bowman, [08:32]). Consequently, Barco remains in limbo within a South Texas detention center, with the potential threat of deportation to El Salvador—a country notorious for its harsh prison conditions (Tom Bowman, [08:45]).

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Analysis of the Deportation System

Challenges and Systemic Issues

Ximena Bustillo provides an in-depth analysis of Barco's case, illustrating the broader challenges within the U.S. deportation system. She emphasizes that administrative errors, such as lost citizenship applications, are common and can have life-altering consequences (Ximena Bustillo, [04:28]). Additionally, Bustillo highlights the reliance on local law enforcement leads as a primary method for ICE to identify and detain individuals, creating a "pipeline to deportation" that disproportionately affects undocumented immigrants and those with criminal records (Ximena Bustillo, [05:03]).

Legal Status and Deportability

Barco's loss of lawful permanent resident status due to his felony conviction underscores the precarious nature of immigration status. Despite his military service and heroism, a single felony can render an individual deportable. Furthermore, the lack of notification regarding the loss of his residency status leaves individuals in uncertainty, potentially leading to inadvertent legal pitfalls (Tom Bowman, [07:15]).

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Human Perspectives and Controversies

Divergent Views on Barco

The episode presents a nuanced view of Barco, reflecting the broader societal debates on immigration and criminal justice. While some view him solely through the lens of his criminal actions, others recognize his military heroism and rehabilitation in prison, advocating for his right to remain in the U.S. (Tom Bowman, [09:00]). This dichotomy illustrates the complexity of balancing national security and humanitarian considerations within immigration policy.

Impact on Families and Communities

Barco's uncertain status and the potential for extended detention highlight the emotional and psychological toll on families and communities. The inability to return to any home country places individuals like Barco in a state of perpetual uncertainty, affecting not only themselves but also their loved ones (Asma Khalid, [09:33]).

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Conclusion and Ongoing Developments

As the episode concludes, Barco's fate remains unresolved, symbolizing the broader inefficiencies and humanitarian crises within the U.S. deportation system. The lack of response from the Trump administration to inquiries further exemplifies the opacity surrounding immigration enforcement actions (Tom Bowman, [10:34]).

This case serves as a critical examination of the intersection between military service, criminal justice, and immigration policy, urging listeners to reflect on the human stories behind political decisions.

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Notable Quotes:

• Asma Khalid: "President Trump has promised to carry out the largest deportation in U.S. history." ([04:44])

• Tom Bowman: "He’s clearly a man at this point with no country." ([09:43])

• Ximena Bustillo: "When someone is put into ICE custody, more often than not they were first originally arrested by some sort of local law enforcement." ([05:03])

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Key Takeaways:

1. Systemic Flaws: Barco's story highlights significant administrative and procedural flaws within the U.S. immigration and deportation system.

2. Human Impact: Beyond policies, individual lives are profoundly affected, often leaving individuals in limbo without clear resolutions.

3. Policy vs. Humanity: The episode underscores the tension between stringent immigration policies and the complex, human stories that challenge simplistic classifications.

4. Need for Reform: Cases like Barco's advocate for comprehensive immigration reform that considers both security and humanitarian aspects.

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This detailed exploration provides listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted issues surrounding deportation processes and their profound impacts on individuals' lives.

Transcript

[Alvin]

Hi, this is Alvin and I am currently at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, Japan. I've just completed a two week tour of Japan with my son for his 10th birthday.

[Asma Khalid]

This podcast was recorded at 1:06pm Eastern Time on Monday, April 7th of 2025.

[Alvin]

Things may have changed by the time you hear this, but I can assure you that this is a trip we will never forget. Okay, here's the show.

[Asma Khalid]

That sounds sweet. I've never been to Japan outside of like a presidential little trip, which you have to do.

[Tom Bowman]

My wife actually taught English there after college.

[Asma Khalid]

Really such a treat. Well, hey there. It's the NPR Politics podcast. I'm Asma Khalid, I cover the White House.

[Ximena Bustillo]

I'm Ximena Bustillo and I cover immigration policy.

[Tom Bowman]

I'm Tom Bowman. I cover the Pentagon.

[Asma Khalid]

And today on the show, President Trump has promised to carry out the largest deportation in U.S. history. We look at the complicated process of deportation through the story of one man. He's an Iraq war veteran who was awarded a Purple Heart, later convicted of a crime, and now facing deportation under the Trump administration. And Tom, I wanna begin with you because you have this exclusive reporting. Tell us more about the man at the center of the story. His name is Jose Barco. How did he come to the United States in the first place?

[Tom Bowman]

Well, he came to the United States when he was 4 years old with his parents from Venezuela, but the parents are Cuban. The dad did some time in a Cuban prison. They fled to Venezuela and then came to the United States again when he was just 4 years old.

[Asma Khalid]

And so he grows up in the United States from the age of four on. He then goes on to enlist in the US army and is deployed to Iraq. What happens to him there overseas?

[Tom Bowman]

Well, he goes into the army at the age of 17 and deploys to Iraq in the summer of 2004. And in November of that year, there's this suicide car bomb hits his platoon. He was slammed against a wall and he ended up somehow being able to pull two soldiers from under this flaming car. He gets a Purple Heart. But they never detected that he had traumatic brain injury. They just treated him for his burns, severe burns, and he ends up coming back to the United States for that treatment. And this comes at a time, Asma, when the military really didn't understand the effects of traumatic brain injury on people, plus PTSD as well. So he comes back, it was never diagnosed until mid, maybe a year later. And at that point they just give you some pills to take, you know, anti anxiety pills and so forth. But he convinces the doctors to let him go for another tour in Iraq in 2006. He gets more concussions. He's in brutal combat, and he comes home. And of course, you know, his symptoms are amplified by his second tour. And in the middle of all this, you know, he applies for citizenship, does his packet through the Army. The packet gets lost somewhere.

[Asma Khalid]

Does he know the packet's been lost?

[Tom Bowman]

He does not know the packet has been lost. So he's discharged from the army in 2008 and, you know, TBI, traumatic brain injury and PTSD, you know, it can basically make you impulsive, irrational. And he ends up going to this party in Colorado Springs where he was living. He came out of Fort Carson, Colorado, and pulls out a handgun in this party and shoots into the ceiling. They throw him out of the party, and then he's driving by the party and shoots at these people on the porch, hitting a pregnant woman in the leg, giving her a serious leg injury. He ends up getting two counts of attempted first degree murder and also menacing. The judge gives him 52 years in jail and his first parole hearing. They let him out for good behavior. He taught English and math and prison.

[Asma Khalid]

And when's that? How recently was he released?

[Tom Bowman]

He gets out of jail January 21st of this year, one day after Trump's inauguration, walks out of the prison right into the arms of ICE and thrown in a van.

[Asma Khalid]

I have so many follow up questions there, Tom, but I do want to bring Ximena into the conversation. You just did a really detailed and important explainer on how deportation works. The process of deportation, which is incredibly complicated. But based on what you've been listening to from Tom, how does Barco's case relate to what typically happens in a deportation case?

[Ximena Bustillo]

A lot of parts and elements of this are very typical and do mirror what happens when you are put into deportation processes. The first can be the citizenship process application process is very just confusing. And I think that this story is very indicative of how complicated the process can be. You can think that you filed everything correctly. Things can get lost in the mail. That is very typical in the immigration process.

[Asma Khalid]

But then immediately after being released from jail, is it the case that ICE is waiting there to pick up somebody who was formerly convicted of a crime and has now been released.

[Ximena Bustillo]

Yes. So what Tom is describing is what's known as a detainer. When someone is put into ICE custody, more often than not they were first originally arrested by some sort of local law enforcement. There just is not enough manpower, enough federal agents to go out and do Individualized arrests, even though that is something that this administration has been highlighting and putting at the front of everyone's feeds. So what happens is someone is more likely than not first arrested on some other offense. Civil infraction, criminal infraction, driving infraction, anything like that. They go through that court process, that local jail, that county prison, flags it to ICE and says, we have someone without legal status. You can come pick them up. Being arrested by local law enforcement is a pipeline to deportation. Not always, but it's one of the most common, which is why immigrant rights advocates and anyone who is undocumented, the first thing they'll tell you is they avoid contact with law enforcement at all costs.

[Asma Khalid]

All right, well, we have lots more to discuss, but we're going to take a quick break first. And we're back. Ximena. This man, Jose Barco, was in the United States as a lawful resident. He came here, as Tom said, as a four year old and he started the process of becoming a citizen nearly 20 years ago. But that paperwork got lost. I have a bunch of questions about this, but I just want to ask for clarity here. At the outset, I was under the assumption that serving in the military was a fast track for citizenship.

[Ximena Bustillo]

It can definitely be an expedited way to naturalization, but your paperwork has to make it. Same thing for the spouses of those who serve in the military who are US Citizens. It can be an easier way to be naturalized. It gives you more credibility, it gives you more backing, but your paperwork has.

[Asma Khalid]

To make it so. Tom, he was a lawful permanent resident, but how did his residency status get him into the position where he is now facing deportation?

[Tom Bowman]

Well, you can lose that lawful resident designation if you commit a felony. And that's apparently what happened in this case while he was in prison. He lost that right.

[Asma Khalid]

Was he notified of that?

[Tom Bowman]

Well, we don't know. And again, he was in prison. I think he assumed he was a US Citizen because again, he filled out the paperwork way back in 2006 and everyone assumed he was a citizen. And when in fact he was not, he was still technically a citizen of Venezuela.

[Asma Khalid]

So we were talking earlier about the fact that he leaves prison and ICE picks him up immediately. He is facing deportation and Tom, where does he go?

[Tom Bowman]

So he's bounced around to several ICE detention facilities and one, he ends up in South Texas and he's with all these other Venezuelans, right, who are going to get on a plane and go to Venezuela. They didn't believe he was Venezuelan. He's very light skinned and with his accent. It's a Cuban accent. All these Venezuelans called him Cuba, Right? So he's on his way to Venezuela. Just last week, in this plane load of Venezuelans, they stop in Honduras as a way station. Venezuelan officials question him, and they also say, you're not Venezuelan, you're Cuban. He said, no, I'm a Venezuelan citizen.

[Asma Khalid]

Did he have a birth certificate?

[Tom Bowman]

Here's my birth certificate. And they said, oh, that looks too new. That has to be forged. They refuse to take him. They send him back to a detention center in South Texas where he sits today.

[Asma Khalid]

What happens next?

[Tom Bowman]

We don't know what happens next. His family is worried since Venezuela will not take him, since he's stuck in this detention center again in South Texas, that he may be sent to El Salvador, which is really troubling. This horrible prison down in El Salvador. And also his story, again, is a complicated one. One of his friends, one of his advocates said, you know, you can cherry pick this story and you could see him as a villain or a hero. And the woman who he shot in the leg, severe injury. I reached out to her family, and they say, yeah, get rid of him. Send him out of the country. So again, it's how you perceive the story. But one of his friends said, listen, he did his time in prison. He was a model prisoner. He's also a hero. He saved his colleagues in Iraq. He should not be sent out of this country.

[Asma Khalid]

It sounds like he is living in limbo, though, now at this moment, with no home country willing to accept him.

[Tom Bowman]

He's clearly a man at this point with no country.

[Asma Khalid]

Is that common?

[Ximena Bustillo]

Jimena, this is one of the biggest challenges to fully removing someone from the United States is whether or not their country is even going to accept them back. Venezuela is one of the countries that has not received deportation flights. And just now they've restarted some. A very historic move. There were some last week, as Tom mentioned, but that's not normal. And other countries have put up barriers to how many flights can come a week, if any flights at all. And that means even if an immigration judge says that you should be removed from the United States, it doesn't mean you actually are.

[Asma Khalid]

Can you remain in a detention facility for years, then?

[Ximena Bustillo]

Yes.

[Asma Khalid]

Tom, have you received any response to your reporting from the Trump administration?

[Tom Bowman]

No, we have not. My colleague Quill Lawrence, who worked on the story with me, reached out to ice. No response.

[Asma Khalid]

All right, well, that is a wrap for today's show. I really appreciate you both bringing your reporting to the podcast. I'm Asma Khalid. I cover the White House.

[Ximena Bustillo]

I'm Ximena Bustill. And I cover immigration policy.

[Tom Bowman]

Policy. I'm Tom Bowman. I cover the Pentagon.

[Asma Khalid]

And thank you all, as always, for listening to the NPR Politics podcast.