Padilla, Warren, Lawmakers Slam Trump Admin for Efforts to Tear Apart Military Families, Convert Military Bases Into “Traps” for Non-Citizens

Senate investigation revealed ICE has attempted to deport 282 veterans and their relatives; DoD coordination with ICE could be violating law that prevents the use of military for civilian law enforcement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), along with Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.-06), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.-02), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.-03), and Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas-07) in leading a bicameral letter pressing the Trump Administration on their efforts to arrest, detain, and deport hundreds of veterans and military family members.

In April 2025, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rescinded its long-standing policy that treated military service a "significant mitigating factor" when deciding whether to pursue immigration enforcement and replaced it with a new policy stating that military service alone "does not automatically exempt" non-citizens from enforcement actions. In September of last year, Padilla joined his colleagues in launching an investigation into the impacts of these policy changes on noncitizen servicemembers, veterans, and military families. The investigation revealed that ICE has attempted to deport 282 veterans and their relatives. However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refused to disclose the number of active-duty troops and their families who have been threatened by the Administration's policy.

New reports indicate that the Department of Defense (DoD) and DHS appear to be coordinating to convert military bases into "traps" for individuals arriving at or near military installations, including DoD detaining military family members and other noncitizens interacting with military facilities for routine, lawful purposes, and turning them over to ICE. For example, a 22-year-old military wife was recently detained while attempting to obtain a military spouse ID. Military officials allegedly called DHS and held her in a room until ICE agents arrived to take her to a detention center. Simultaneously, DoD has continued to recruit new service members with the promise of immigration protections.

Recent reporting by the Associated Press reveals that, since January 2025, more than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty service members have been detained, and at least six have been deported. ICE's statistics show that the agency has arrested 16 non-citizen armed forces members since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2026. Some service members have reportedly needed to take leave or delay deployment because ICE detained their family members, including spouses and caregivers.

"These efforts imperil military readiness, weaken service members' morale, and betray America's promises to the people who put their lives on the line for our nation," wrote the lawmakers.

"DoD's participation in civil immigration enforcement activities raises both ethical and legal concerns, including potential violations of the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits using the armed forces of the military for civilian law enforcement," continued the lawmakers.

The lawmakers warned that if service members were to be swept up in any of these enforcement actions, it could separately constitute a violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which provides protections to all members of the United States military on active duty, including non-citizens, from civil actions - such as immigration proceedings - that interfere with their military duties.

"Service members must have confidence that their sacrifices will be honored, not used against them or to target their loved ones," wrote the lawmakers. "DoD's new anti-immigrant practices risk deterring future recruits and damaging the credibility of military recruitment efforts-which promised to care for service members even after their time in uniform."

The lawmakers requested that the agencies and departments explain the enhanced coordination between DoD and DHS, restore long-standing immigration protections for family members of service members, and explain what steps they are taking to protect troops, veterans, and their families from unjust immigration enforcement by August 23, 2026.

In addition to Padilla, Warren, Duckworth, and Blumenthal, the letter was signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

In addition to Houlahan, Goodlander, Ramirez, and Fletcher, the letter was signed by Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.-03), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.-44), André Carson (D-Ind.-07), Greg Casar (D-Texas-37), Sean Casten (D-Ill.-06), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas-20), Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.-31), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.-12), Daniel Davis (D-Ill.-07), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.-04), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.-01), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.-10), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.-03), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas-16), Bill Foster (D-Ill.-11), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.-10), Chuy García (D-Ill.-04), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas-29), Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.-07), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.-01), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.-04), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.-17), John Larson (D-Conn.-01), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.-08), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.-02), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.-06), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.-15), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.-AL), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.-14), Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.-11), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.-05), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.-09), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.-12), Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.-10), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.-10), Mark Takano (D-Calif.-39), Dina Titus (D-Nev.-01), Marc Veasey (D-Texas-33), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.-43), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.-02) in the House of Representatives.

The letter was endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Immigration Defenders Law Center, the Seattle Clemency Project, Common Defense, Repatriate Our Patriots, and League of United Latin American Citizens.

"It is hard to imagine a more profound betrayal than targeting service members, veterans, and military families for deportation," said Jennie Pasquarella, interim executive director of the Seattle Clemency Project. "This administration is abandoning decades of bipartisan policies that recognized a simple truth: protecting those who serve makes our military stronger and our nation safer. Targeting the very communities that have sacrificed for this country is not just morally indefensible, it is a direct attack on military readiness, recruitment, and trust."

"This administration has made a conscious decision to abandon its promises to military families and fail those who put their lives on the line for our nation," said Amanda Schuft, director of legal services at Immigrant Defenders Law Center. "We have seen the devastating human cost firsthand. Our client, the father of an active-duty Army service member, was detained by ICE despite suffering from terminal renal failure, forcing his son to take leave from military service to plead for his release and provide evidence of his grave medical condition. The government ignored those pleas. After his health deteriorated in detention, our client was eventually released, only to die within weeks."

"Family readiness directly impacts mission readiness. Behind every military spouse or parent in detention is a servicemember who could deploy at any moment. Without a strong homefront, we cannot have a ready force. Our government must honor its commitments to those who serve," said Danitza G. James, MSW, President, Repatriate Our Patriots.

Padilla has been a vocal leader against the Trump Administration's cruel and indiscriminate mass deportation agenda and denial of basic services for detained individuals. Last week, Padilla called out the Trump Administration's continued abuses of power through the carrying out of their violent mass deportation agenda and inhumane treatment of detained immigrants, and mourned the lives lost at the hands of DHS. In June, Padilla, pressed DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE Acting Director-Designate David Venturella on the staggering death toll at ICE detention centers and expressed concern over the announcement of the 50th reported death in ICE custody under the Trump Administration. In March, Padilla pressed former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a DHS oversight hearing on the Administration's cruel mass deportation and detention campaign. Last year, Padilla joined Warren and Representative John Garamendi (D-Calif.-08) in unveiling a report detailing the Trump Administration's diversion of funds and resources from the DoD to the DHS to support immigration enforcement, and its impact on readiness and morale.

Full letter is available here.

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