Elfreth Joins Bicameral Democrats to Investigate the Trump Administration’s New DHS Policy for Immigrant Servicemembers

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth (MD-03) joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), and Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03) alongside over 50 Democrats across the House and Senate in opening an investigation into the Trump Administration's arrest, detention, and deportation of non-citizen servicemembers, veterans, and military families. The lawmakers wrote to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) demanding an explanation for these practices, which go against decades of precedent and long-standing DHS policyindicating that military service offers protection from immigration enforcement for military servicemembers, veterans, and their immediate family members.

"The Trump administration's [actions] threaten U.S. national security interests and erode the U.S. military's credibility when it makes promises to its service members who have put their lives on the line for our country," wrote the lawmakers.

Over the past century, hundreds of thousands of immigrant servicemembers have fought for the nation and contributed to victories in military conflicts. Non-citizen servicemembers fill in recruitment gaps and provide foreign language skillsand medical expertiseto the military that are difficult for recruiters to find and expensive to teach.

Despite their crucial contributions to our nation's military readiness, on April 10, 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rescinded its former policy of considering military service a "significant mitigating factor" when deciding whether to pursue immigration enforcement and issued a new policythat is less protective of servicemembers and their families. Even prior to the 2022 policy directive, ICE guidance has required consideration of military service as a mitigating factor in whether to initiate deportation proceedings since 2004.

Following the policy change, the wife of a Marine Corps veteranand mother of two young children was detained by ICE during a green card application appointment - despite having lived in the United States for over a decade. Then, in June, a father of three Marines was repeatedly punched in the headby masked ICE agents, and a U.S. citizenwho served in the Army was rounded up in an indiscriminate raid and held without explanation. The Trump Administration's actions against veterans and non-citizen military families have even prompted at least one veteran to leave the United States.

Multiple constituents affected by the Administration's reckless changes to immigration protections for military families have shared their stories with representatives in Congress. For example, Sae Joon Park, a disabled Purple Heart veteran residing in Hawaii, was forced to self-deport by the Trump Administration despite having lived in the U.S. for nearly five decades. Additionally, Maria Pelaez, a mother of an active-duty U.S. Marine, was detained by ICE, and ICE has refused to release her despite a judge's decision to grant her bond.

The Trump Administration may also be targeting military families using information they voluntarily provided to the federal government in connection with their service. When applying for immigration benefits, like "parole in place," military families provide extensive personal data, including their physical addresses, physically-identifying information like eye color and height, country of birth, and more. Now, USCIS may be using that information to refer servicemembers or their families to ICE for removal proceedings, even if they were previously deprioritized for enforcement actions.

Despite the Administration taking steps to backtrack on its previous immigration enforcement protections, military recruiters continued using immigration benefits as a talking point to recruit non-citizens, "promoting enlistmentas a way to gain 'protection from deportation' for family members." Only recently did the Marines stop the practice and it is unclear whether other branches continue to use this recruitment tactic.

"We demand an explanation for why DHS is betraying its promises to service members who play a key role in protecting U.S. national security," wrote the members.

The letter specifically asks the two agencies to provide, by September 16, 2025: information about the number of non-citizens serving in the military; a list of servicemembers, veterans, and family members who have been arrested, detained, or deported since January 2025; the impact of these new immigration policies on recruitment, readiness, and morale; what information about non-citizen servicemembers and military family members the Pentagon provides DHS and ICE; and more.

A copy of the letter is available here.

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