An army veteran with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder may face deportation after obtaining an extensive criminal record for driving under the influence of alcohol, Hartford Courant reports.

Jorge Luis Salcedo's family is appealing the case and trying their best to keep immigration authorities from deporting him.

"This case is very painful," said John Lugo, an activist with Unidad Latina en Accion. "This guy is a veteran, and he has post-traumatic stress syndrome."

Unidad Latina en Accion is a New Haven-based worker and immigration advocacy group.

Salcedo's wife Cindy LaPointe-Salcedo says her husband should be treated for PTSD and not deported for it. "He's not a bad person, he's a very good person," LaPointe-Salcedo said.

The 40-year-old U.S. veteran has worked for the same construction company for 16 years while raising his two daughters alongside his wife.

According to his wife, Salcedo has not seen Health Administration doctors since being diagnosed with PTSD. Instead, he has turned to alcohol.

The Army veteran has been in trouble with the law because of his drinking habits. He served three years' probation for spitting on an officer and recently completed a 15-month jail sentence for a DUI conviction.

"ICE respects the rights of all people to voice their opinion and is focused on priority removal of convicted criminals and recent border entrants," Daniel Modricker, a spokesman for ICE said in an email.

Salcedo developed PTSD after witnessing a fellow soldier die during a training accident, ThinkProgress reports. Since then, he tried covering his pain with alcohol, which led him to develop a serious problem.

He came to America legally when he was 14 years old and later married a United States citizen. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1994 as a green card holder when he was 18 years old and served for eight years.

"He joined the military because it was the honorable thing to do," his wife said. "Once you move and live in a new country, you grow to love it."

According to his wife, Salcedo was honorably discharged from the Army.