He Served His Country. In Return, His Country Sent Him Into Exile

This is a sad situation that needs to be rectified.
Under current immigration law, military members are eligible to apply for citizenship after a year of honorable service. During times of war, they become eligible to apply immediately upon joining, a provision that has been in place since Sept. 11, 2001. But there is no guarantee that their applications will be granted.
As a result, enlistees sometimes leave the military without being citizens of the nation they served. For those who later get caught up in the immigration system, there is little recourse. For years, immigration officers were not required to consider veteran status in deportation proceedings, and no mechanisms were in place to track military service. In 2004, ICE updated its guidance, directing agents to consider factors related to military service in deportation proceedings. But a 2019 report by the Government Accountability Office found that the policy was not consistently applied and that ICE had no protocol for identifying veterans.

In the first guy's case, he needs to look squarely at his adoptive parents and himself. Perhaps they and he should have been more proactive in doing the right thing and getting him citzen ship once they adopted him or came home to the US. Taking the word of someone who has zero clue of the law is a recipe for disaster...as he found out.

There needs to be more robust legislation to assist those in this situation, deportation should be rare not the rule.