PURPLE HEART RECIPIENT IN ICE CUSTODY SINCE JANUARY HAS NOW BEEN DEPORTED!

Army veteran Jose Barco, who earned a Purple Heart for injuries sustained during combat deployments, was deported to Mexico on Friday, according to statements from ICE and his legal team.

Barco, born in Venezuela and admitted to the U.S. in 1990, served two tours overseas before being medically discharged. In 2009, he was convicted of two counts of attempted murder with extreme indifference and felony menacing after a 2008 shooting at a Colorado Springs house party in which a pregnant woman was injured. He was sentenced to more than 50 years but was paroled after 15 years.

ICE took Barco into custody in January while he was still incarcerated, and he received a final order of removal in February. His appeals were denied in late September, and ICE proceeded with his removal this week. His legal team says they were not given advance notification of his transfer or deportation.

Barco’s supporters argue his crime was related to PTSD and a traumatic brain injury from his service, while ICE’s position cites the seriousness of his criminal convictions. Barco leaves behind a wife and teenage daughter in the U.S.