In 1989, when then-President Ronald Reagan issued a blanket amnesty for the 15+ million illegal aliens in the United States at the time, Medina was handed a green card -- something worth more than gold.
At the age of 19, Medina enlisted in the military. He did not make a career out of it, though, and I don't know what exactly he did while he was in the military, but after his four-year stint he left them.
Not too much longer after that, Marco Chavez Medina committed a horrific crime of animal cruelty on a dog.
I say "horrific" because this was in the late 1990s, animal cruelty cases weren't prosecuted as often as they are now. And even back then - 20 years ago - he was charged with FELONY AGGRAVATED ANIMAL CRUELTY. On top of that, they actually sentenced him to be incarcerated FOR TWO YEARS!
Of course, sentencing what it is, Medina only had to serve 10 months of that. But think, rarely does anyone serve jail time even now - 20 years later - so what he did had to have been so heinous that twenty years ago the jury elected to send him to jail.
Of course, Marco Chavez Medina refuses to admit his crime. Instead, he claims that the jury "got it all wrong" and that he's innocent of the abuse of the dog ("the situation involved a dog in a mechanic shop"). He claims, to this day, that "someone else" beat the dog.
After he finished his jail stint, an immigration judge rightly said "We don't want criminals in our country - especially animal abusers" and deported his animal abusing butt back to Mexico.
However, thanks to a liberal immigration judge, who reinstated his green card ("Come to the USA we love animal abusing immigrants!") and thanks to California Gov. Jerry Brown, Marco Chavez Medina has now returned to the USA - free to abuse more animals. See, what Jerry Brown did was officially pardon him -- as if this crime against this innocent animal had never happened.
Nathan Fletcher, a former California state lawmaker, founded the Honorably Discharged/Dishonorably Deported Coalition that tries to help deported veterans get back to the U.S.
"We are here today because a group of people said if you are willing to die for a country, that country would not leave you behind, that country would not let you be deported," he said.
Earlier this year at the request of Fletcher's organization, California Gov. Jerry Brown pardoned Chavez for a 1998 conviction for animal cruelty in a dog beating. Chavez said another person was responsible.
Months after he was pardoned, an immigration judge granted Chavez's request to return.
Brown, a Democrat, said Chavez served the U.S. and deserved "to come back home."
I might have more sympathy for his situation if he admitted to what he did to that poor dog, admitted that he had a drug/alcohol problem at the time (or whatever his problem was at the time) and asked for forgiveness. Michael Vick admitted to what he'd done, repented and has been (mostly) forgiven by society.
This guy, though, is a coward - he won't admit to what he's done. He doesn't deserve to have the mantle of the respect that comes with military personnel who have served our country with honor.
Oh yeah, and Jerry Brown has turned California into a toilet.
Earlier: