WASHINGTON, D.C. - Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and their Democratic colleagues in releasing new data obtained from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealing that the Trump Administration has attempted to deport hundreds of Veterans and their family members after promising immigration protections at the time of recruitment. The new data also reveals that, in some cases, the Trump Administration has targeted Veterans, their families and servicemembers’ families for deportation even after they have applied for Military Parole in Place. The new data came in response to the lawmakers’ recent investigation, which was co-led by Duckworth, Durbin, Warren and U.S Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH-02) and Delia Ramirez (D-IL-03).
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“It’s absolutely unconscionable that the Trump Administration is targeting our nation’s immigrant servicemembers, Veterans and their family members in their aggressive and overreaching deportation efforts,” said Duckworth. “There is no higher betrayal to our heroes than to be deported by the same nation they sacrificed to defend—but this is what happens when Trump cruelly chooses to implement policies more rooted in hate than in logic.”
“The Trump Administration is betraying our military by deporting immigrant veterans,” said Durbin. “Wearing our country’s uniform in service is an ultimate sign of patriotism, and military service has rightfully protected immigrants from deportation for decades. The dozens of immigrant veterans who the Trump Administration has detained or deported deserve to be reunited with their loved ones, brought back, and issued an apology. This practice must be halted immediately. DHS, hands off military families.”
In April, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rescinded its long-standing policy of considering military service a “significant mitigating factor” when deciding whether to pursue immigration enforcement and issued a new policy that is far less protective of servicemembers and their families. Even so, the military has continued to recruit new servicemembers with the promise of immigration protections that have now been weakened or eliminated.
The new data reveals that in the first year of the second Trump Administration:
- ICE arrested 125 Veterans, nearly two-thirds of whom did not have an active criminal warrant;
- ICE attempted to deport 282 Veterans and family members, who have long been offered protection from immigration enforcement under other administrations; and
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has used its 2025 policy on issuing Notices to Appear (NTAs) to refer over 100 immediate relatives of Veterans for deportation after denying them the ability to fix their immigration status through Military Parole in Place (MPIP).
