{"id":3449,"date":"2026-08-05T17:32:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3449"},"modified":"2026-08-05T17:32:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:32:53","slug":"trumps-immigration-crackdown-has-detained-more-than-50-military-spouses-and-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3449","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown has detained more than 50 military spouses and parents"},"content":{"rendered":"
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>

By JACK BROOK, SAFIYAH RIDDLE and AARON KESSLER<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has detained dozens of parents and spouses of active-duty U.S. troops as it rolls back\u00a0immigration\u00a0protections for military families to pursue its\u00a0mass deportation agenda, an Associated Press investigation found.<\/p>

Read more Fauci\u2019s decision to invoke the Fifth Amendment tees up a legal debate and a contempt vote<\/a><\/p>\n

More than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty service members have been detained since Trump took office for a second term, and at least six\u00a0have been deported\u00a0and one self-deported, the AP found in\u00a0the first accounting of such detentions, which the government does not track. At least eight immediate family members of U.S. service members remain in federal immigration custody.<\/p>\n

Parents and spouses of people in the military have generally been shielded from deportation under bipartisan consensus for decades. But the AP found they\u2019re now routinely being detained for months as they try to adjust their legal status through the policies available to service members\u2019 close relatives and even as the military continues to recruit by advertising immigration benefits for enlistees\u2019 families. Experts warn that the reversal could undermine military preparedness even as the U.S. is at\u00a0war in Iran. It\u2019s left military members without emotional support and caretakers for their children, delayed deployments and forced some to take leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can I even focus on my military career because I have to worry about how my wife is doing?\u201d said Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez, who was stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas, when his wife was detained outside a Walmart in front of their 6-year-old daughter in July.<\/p>\n

A handful of detentions of service members\u2019 spouses have\u00a0prompted public backlash\u00a0and led to\u00a0intervention\u00a0by Homeland Security Secretary\u00a0Markwayne Mullin\u00a0to secure their release.<\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security has said it does not compile data on these cases. The AP obtained information by analyzing thousands of federal court records compiled by\u00a0Habeas Dockets, a project run by the Immigration Justice Transparency Initiative; by reviewing existing media coverage; and by verifying information with family members and attorneys. The actual number is likely much higher than the 52 cases AP found.<\/p>\n

The AP asked for comment from DHS on each case, including the individuals\u2019 immigration and criminal history. The agency did not provide specific information about the majority of cases but noted that at least seven people had been removed from the U.S. before, at least eight had removal orders and at least two had drunken-driving or drug-related convictions.<\/p>

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\u201cDHS and ICE value the contributions of all those who have served in the U.S. military,\u201d DHS said in a statement. \u201cU.S. military service alone does not automatically grant lawful immigration status, or exempt aliens from the consequences of violating U.S. immigration laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pentagon declined to comment on the AP\u2019s findings.<\/p>\n