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The Trump administration began deportation proceedings for 34 former members of the military over the past year, according to federal data obtained by The New York Times, after immigration authorities were directed to ignore previous guidance that gave service members and their relatives more deference.<\/p>\n
The 34 are among 125 former service members who were arrested over immigration violations over the past year, according to the data. Officials also placed 248 relatives of former military members into deportation proceedings.<\/p>\n
The actions represent a break from policies in recent years, including under President Joseph R. Biden Jr.\u2019s administration, which made it less of a priority to detain and deport members of the military who committed crimes. The Biden administration also avoided targeting for immigration enforcement family members of people who had served.<\/p>\n
But the Trump administration rescinded that policy last year, arguing that no one should be protected from the law, which says immigrants who are convicted of certain crimes may be deported.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The Department of Homeland Security did not answer questions, including about whether any of the veterans or family members detained over the past year were ultimately deported. It defended its policy and said no one was exempt from the penalties of violating immigration law.<\/p>\n
In a high-profile example of the new policy, Sae Joon Park<\/a> left Hawaii for South Korea in June under the threat of deportation, even though he had not lived there since he was seven years old. Mr. Park, who earned a Purple Heart for his service, joined the military after high school and was deployed to Panama in 1989, returning with a disability and undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n In the following years, he was convicted of drug possession, served two years and then missed a bail hearing, which sent him back to prison.<\/p>\n While he was serving his second prison stint, a judge ordered that he be deported. When he was released, he fought his deportation orders and was allowed to stay in the country, according to a Hawaii news report<\/a>, as long as he stayed out of further trouble and regularly checked in with immigration officials.<\/p>\n Last May, however, an immigration officer told him he would be deported if he did not leave on his own.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Lawmakers and immigration advocates have argued that this new policy does little to make the country safer and insults people who put their lives on the line for the nation.<\/p>\n \u201cDonald Trump\u2019s way of thanking our veterans for their service is by targeting and deporting them and their families,\u201d Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, said in a statement on Monday.<\/p>\n The data was disclosed in a Feb. 18 letter from the Homeland Security Department to Democratic lawmakers, including Ms. Warren. It covered the period between Jan. 20, 2025, and Jan. 26, 2026.<\/p>\n Immigration and Customs Enforcement publishes annual data on arrests and deportations of immigrant military members. In the 2024 fiscal year, the government said it arrested 24 immigrant members of the Armed Forces for immigration violations, but did not say whether that number included active duty, former members or a combination of both. The Trump administration arrested 125 former members of the military for immigration violations during its first year. .<\/p>\n Only U.S. citizens and green-card holders can join the military. And doing so can expedite a green-card holder\u2019s path to citizenship. The first Trump administration and the current one issued policies that required a longer wait to be eligible to apply. The number of green-card holders who served in the military and applied for citizenship declined significantly during<\/a> President Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n According to federal data, as of July 31, 2025, there were 26,708 active duty immigrants and another 20,350 in the Selected Reserve and National Guard. Veterans Affairs did not respond to a question about the current number of immigrant veterans. In 2022, there were 115,000 immigrant veterans, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service<\/a>.<\/p>\n Military recruiters continue to trumpet<\/a> the U.S. policy that promises a swift path to citizenship for immigrants who join the armed services as well as temporary protection for their family members<\/a>. Spouses, children and parents of immigrant veterans and active duty members can apply for temporary permission to stay in the country.<\/p>\n Now some relatives are afraid to apply for the benefit out of fear that doing so will turn them into a target for deportation. The agency does not regularly track military family members placed in deportation proceedings, so it is not clear how the number compares to previous years.<\/p>\n The Trump administration has targeted other groups of immigrants who were previously not considered priorities for enforcement, including undocumented immigrants who have lived in the country for decades and have no criminal records.<\/p>\n Between Jan. 21 and Nov. 19 of last year, the administration deported 86 immigrants<\/a> who had protections from removal because they were brought to the country illegally as young children, according to a separate set of federal data provided to lawmakers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n