CHICAGO — Supporters of a local army veteran scheduled to be deported spoke out Monday.

Miguel Perez Jr is facing deportation because of a drug case.  He lost his appeal last week.

Perez moved to Chicago when he was 8-years-old. He joined the U.S. Army and served two tours of duty in Afghanistan.  He became a legal resident when he enlisted in 2001, but he was not a citizen.

While in Afghanistan, he suffered a brain injury in an explosion.

Perez’s friends and family say that injury, and the post traumatic stress disorder he later developed, made it difficult for him to find work when he returned to Chicago. They say he then started selling drugs.

In February of 2010, Perez was convicted of selling more than two-pounds of cocaine.

He has spent the last year in an ICE facility in Wisconsin.

Perez has two children, both U.S. citizens, an 18-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son. He’s worried he won’t be able to see them again if he’s deported.

His family is urging Gov Rauner to pardon Perez.

A lawyer says Perez’s life would be in danger if he went back to Mexico.  The judge in the case says he’s not convinced that’s true.