Barco enlisted in the army at 17 and served two tours in Iraq. Barco was injured by an improvised explosive device during one of his deployments, and received a Purple Heart for his service in combat. He was also awarded a Combat Infantry Badge. During his military career, Barco had filled out paperwork for citizenship, but his application was never processed for an unknown reason, despite his submitting it. His legal team says his former commander attests to helping him complete and submit the application.

Barco, 39, served 15 years in prison for a felony conviction of attempted murder. In October 2009, Barco was sentenced to 52 years after being convicted of firing a gun at a house party in Colorado Springs. He was suffering from PTSD. One of the bullets he fired hit a 19-year-old woman in the leg. Barco was released on parole this January after serving 15 years due to good behavior. Upon release, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement detained Barco and took him to a detention center in Colorado.