Padilla, Colleagues Investigate Trump Administration’s Betrayal of Immigrant Service Members, Veterans, Military Families

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, joined 60 of his Senate and House colleagues in opening a new investigation into the Trump Administration's arrests, detentions, and deportations of noncitizen service members, 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 longstanding DHS policy indicating that military service offers protection from immigration enforcement for service members, veterans, and their immediate family members.

The letter was led by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), along with Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.-06), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.-02), and Delia C. Ramirez (D-Ill.-03).

"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.

"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," continued the lawmakers.

Over the past century, hundreds of thousands of immigrant service members have fought for the nation and contributed to victories in military conflicts. Noncitizen service members have filled in recruitment gaps and provided foreign language skills and medical expertise to the military that are difficult for recruiters to find and expensive to teach.

In April, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rescinded its former policy of considering military service a "significant mitigating factor" when deciding whether to pursue immigration enforcement and issued a new policy that was less protective of service members and their families.

Following the policy change, the wife of a Marine Corps veteran and mother of two young children, including a three-month old baby, 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 in Orange County was repeatedly punched in the head by masked Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, and a U.S. citizen who served in the Army was rounded up in an indiscriminate raid and held without explanation. The Trump Administration's actions against veterans and noncitizen 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 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, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may be using that information to refer service members or their families to ICE for removal proceedings, even if they were previously deprioritized for enforcement actions.

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

The coalition asked DHS and DOD to provide, by September 16, 2025, information about the number of noncitizens serving in the military; a list of service members, 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 noncitizen service members and military family members the Pentagon provides DHS and ICE; and more.

In addition to Padilla, Warren, Duckworth, and Durbin, the letter was also signed by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). Representatives Becca Balint (D-Vt.-AL), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.-44), Wesley Bell (D-Mo.-01), Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.-13), Sean Casten (D-Ill.-06), Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.-31), Angie Craig (D-Minn.-02), Jason Crow (D-Colo.-06), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.-04), Danny Davis (D-Ill.-07), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas-37), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.-03), Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.-03), Cleo Fields (D-La.-06), John Garamendi (D-Calif.-08), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas-29), Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y-10.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.-01), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.-51), Henry Johnson (D-Ga.-04), John Larson (D-Conn.-01), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.-02), Kelly Morrison (D-Minn.-03), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.-AL), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.-01), Scott Peters (D-Calif.-50), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.-09), Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.-03), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.-14), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.-13), Dina Titus (D-Nev.-01), Derek Tran (D-Calif.-45), and Juan Vargas (D-Calif.-52) also joined the letter.

Senator Padilla has been a leading voice in opposition to President Trump's cruel and indiscriminate mass deportation agenda, recently pushing back against the Trump Administration's stops, arrests, detentions, and deportations of U.S. citizens and pressing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on the wrongful targeting of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients. In July, Padilla joined a Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee hearing to set the record straight on President Trump and Stephen Miller's cruel mass deportation campaign, blasting the Administration for intentionally stoking fear and scapegoating immigrants. During the hearing, Padilla heard from Alejandro Barranco - a Marine veteran and the eldest son of Narciso Barranco, who was violently detained by masked CBP agents in Orange County - about the dangers of indiscriminate immigration enforcement, including the sweeping up of hardworking individuals with no history of violent crime.

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Secretary Noem, Secretary Hegseth, Commissioner Scott, Director Edlow, and Acting Director Lyons:

We write regarding disturbing reports that non-citizen service members and military family members - who have long received protections from detention and deportation in recognition of their sacrifice - are now being referred for removal proceedings under recent policy changes. These alarming accounts contravene decades of precedent and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy establishing non-citizens' military service as a mitigating factor when considering immigration enforcement against military service members, veterans, and their immediate family members. 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.

Foreign-born service members have served the U.S. military throughout U.S. history. Over the past century, hundreds of thousands of immigrant service members have fought for the nation and contributed to victories in military hostilities. As of February 2024, over 40,000 foreign nationals were serving in the armed forces, and as of 2022, over 115,000 foreign nationals living in the United States were veterans of the U.S. military. Non-citizens often possess specialized skills valuable to the military, particularly in certain medical specialties and foreign languages that are difficult for military recruiters to find and expensive to teach. Non-citizens can also be critical in helping the military meet its recruitment goals, and they have had higher retention rates than citizens. Military family members also play a key role in maintaining military readiness. Research has found that "[f]amily well-being directly impacts Service members' performance during deployment" and, as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has noted when explaining immigration protections for service members' families, "[m]ilitary preparedness can potentially be adversely affected if active members of the U.S. Armed Forces . . . worry about the immigration status of their spouses, parents and children."

However, under the Trump administration, DHS has increasingly arrested, detained, and deported service members, veterans, and their families. For example, in May 2025, the wife of a Marine Corps veteran and mother of two young children (one of whom she was breastfeeding) was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a green card application appointment - after living in the United States for over a decade. In June 2025, a father of three Marines was repeatedly punched in the head by masked ICE agents. The Trump administration's actions against veterans and non-citizen military families have even prompted at least one veteran to leave the United States.

These and other incidents have been fueled by recent changes in DHS policy. After January 20, 2025, DHS began limiting its prosecutors' discretion to deprioritize cases that were previously afforded some protection. Meanwhile, ICE has ramped up indiscriminate enforcement actions, which have swept in military families and others previously deprioritized for enforcement action - and even U.S. citizens, such as a U.S. Army veteran and citizen who was recently arrested and reportedly held without explanation for three days following an immigration raid in California. Furthermore, on February 28, 2025, USCIS said it "will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement," including non-citizen military families, reversing its longstanding policy. Likewise, on April 10, 2025, ICE rescinded its former policy of considering military service as a "significant mitigating factor" when deciding whether to pursue immigration enforcement and issued a new policy less protective of service members and their families.

To make matters worse, the Trump administration may be targeting military families using information they voluntarily provided to the federal government in connection with their service. USCIS offers military families discretionary immigration benefits in recognition of their service. When applying for such benefits, military families provide extensive personal data, including their physical addresses, physically-identifying information like eye color and height, country of birth, and more. For years, individuals have trusted that the personal information they share with USCIS will be used to protect them, not deport them. Now, USCIS is reportedly referring individuals to ICE for removal proceedings, including those who were previously deprioritized for enforcement actions.

These actions are a betrayal of longstanding assurances that military service will afford service members and their families some protection from immigration enforcement proceedings. Indeed, since the early 2000s, ICE guidance has required consideration of military service as a mitigating factor in whether to initiate deportation proceedings. In 2022, ICE issued a new policy directive that formalized protections for non-citizens in the military: according to ICE Directive 10039.2, the military service of a non-citizen or their immediate family member "is a significant mitigating factor that must be considered when deciding whether to take civil immigration enforcement action." The directive also provided that ICE agents generally will not initiate removal proceedings against "a noncitizen who is currently serving on active duty in the U.S. military," nor those who are "statutorily eligible for naturalization" based on their military service. Additionally, USCIS has granted immigration protections under "parole in place" to service members' qualifying relatives.

Furthermore, for more than 200 years, Congress has "recognized the critical role non-citizens play in the military by promising them an expedited path to citizenship." For more than 70 years, under special provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), there have been reduced naturalization requirements for non-citizen service members and veterans, including shortened residency requirements. Since 2002, USCIS has naturalized more than 187,000 members of the U.S. military, with 16,290 service members naturalized in 2024 alone. Military officials have previously confirmed that opening up more pathways for citizenship for noncitizens through military service can help "support the Army's recruiting mission" and "increase the number of people eligible to pursue military service while meeting our high standards for character and performance." It is concerning that some military recruiters are reportedly still using immigration benefits as a talking point to recruit non-citizens - even while the government turns around and take steps to deport them. According to one source, "numerous Marine Corps recruiters have continued to post ads on social media, geared toward Latinos, promoting enlistment as a way to gain 'protection from deportation' for family members." Only last month, the Marine Corps instructed its recruiters to stop using this promotional tactic. But, according to reports, "[t]he Marine Corps is not alone in its recruiters promoting parole-in-place on social media in recent months," and it is unclear whether recruiters across other military services are continuing to promise immigration protections that may no longer exist.

The Trump administration's detention and deportation of non-citizens who have served the U.S. military and their families 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. To address our concerns about these deportations and their impact on military readiness, we request the following information on this topic by September 16, 2025:

Questions for Department of Homeland Security (DHS):

1. How many a) non-citizen service members, b) non-citizen veterans, and c) immediate family members of service members or veterans have been arrested, detained, and/or placed in removal proceedings since January 20, 2025?

2. How many non-citizen service members, veterans, or immediate family members of service members or veterans have been issued a Notice to Appear (NTA) by DHS since January 20, 2025? How many have been issued an NTA specifically by USCIS?

3. How many individuals with parole or deferred action pursuant to programs for military service members and veterans has USCIS referred to ICE for immigration enforcement action?

a. How many have been placed in removal proceedings pursuant to INA 240? How many have been placed into expedited removal pursuant to INA 235?

4. Please describe how USCIS's February 28, 2025 directive is being enforced with respect to military families. How does USCIS determine to whom it will issue NTAs or whether to refer such individuals to ICE for immigration enforcement?

5. Please describe how ICE's April 10, 2025 memorandum is being implemented. How does ICE determine when to take immigration enforcement action against a service member, veteran, or military family member?

6. Please provide a list of all databases used to identify and locate individuals subject to the February directive, including whether individuals who have applied for an established parole or deferred action program are flagged for enforcement.

7. What analysis, if any, did DHS conduct to determine the impact of USCIS's February directive or ICE's April memorandum on military families and U.S. military readiness? Did DHS receive input from the Department of Defense (DoD) on this analysis or its overall decisions regarding enforcement against non-citizen service members?

Questions for DoD:

1. As of January 20, 2025, how many non-citizens were serving in the military? How has that number changed since January 20th, if at all?

2. Are any DoD recruiting programs currently advertising military service as temporary protection from deportation?

a. What actions has DoD taken to ensure that DoD's recruitment talking points reflect the Trump Administration's newest policies on non-citizen service members and their families? Please provide copies of any instructions that DoD or each of the military services have provided to recruiters regarding how to talk about immigration benefits linked to enlistment.

b. Please provide a copy of any advertisements and recruitment materials that DoD has used since January 20, 2025 related to potential immigration benefits linked to enlistment.

3. Please provide a copy of any guidance DoD or each of the military services have provided to DoD personnel related to recent policy changes pertaining to non-citizens in the military and noncitizen military family members.

4. What actions, if any, has DoD taken to alert and provide resources to service members or their families regarding USCIS's February 28, 2025 directive or ICE's April 10, 2025 memorandum? Please provide copies of any resources that DoD has provided to service members or their families regarding this directive.

5. What is the impact on recruitment, readiness, and morale when non-citizen members of the military and their families are deported? Has DoD conducted any analysis along these lines?

6. What rules does DoD follow with respect to sharing information with and responding to requests from DHS and ICE?

7. What are the benefits to military readiness of having service members with language and cultural proficiency skills?

8. What is the average cost for DoD to train personnel to reach each level of language proficiency, from level 1 to 4 or higher? Please provide a breakdown by proficiency level.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

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