Hector Barajas-Varela, a deported U.S. Army veteran, polishes one of his medals at the Deported Veterans Support House in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, Friday, July, 7, 2017.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton enacted the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act shifting immigration policies and expanding the types of criminal convictions eligible for deportation. The law no longer considered military service in deportation cases.