On Veterans Day, Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz, the family of a service member killed in action, veterans and community advocates gathered on the corner of 37th Drive and 104th Street in Corona that bears the name of local hero Staff Sergeant Alex R. Jimenez, just steps from the home where he grew up.
The son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic enlisted in the U.S. Army after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and deployed to Iraq as part of the 10th Mountain Division from upstate New York. After he was captured by al-Qaeda insurgents in 2007 and listed as missing, his wife Yadelin was without documentation and deportation proceedings began. Jimenez was in the process of trying to seek legal status for his wife before he deployed but was denied due to her illegal entry.
