Thursday, 6 August 2026, 14:42
An Associated Press investigation has found that the Trump administration, since the start of its second term, has detained more than 50 spouses and parents of active-duty military members, breaking with a decades-old bipartisan practice of shielding immediate military family members from deportation. At least six have been deported. The detentions are now routine, often lasting months while family members seek legal status through programs designed for military relatives.
AP analyzed thousands of federal court records collected by Habeas Dockets, reviewed existing media coverage, and confirmed cases with family members and lawyers. Habeas Dockets is a project directed by the Immigration Justice Transparency Initiative. The investigation identified at least 51 cases. At least eight immediate family members of service members remained in U.S. immigration custody.
Some military families say the toll is severe. Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juárez asked: 'How can I even concentrate on my military career if I have to worry about how my wife is doing?'
Turcios Juárez was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, when his wife was detained in July outside a Walmart, in front of their 6-year-old daughter.
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Wendy Gbeve, 30, said she has not had a good night's sleep since her father, Luis Alberto Ramírez Zavala, was detained last month. Gbeve was present when he was arrested during a routine USCIS interview in Missouri about his pending application for legal status. He was transferred from a county jail in Missouri to an ICE detention center in Texas. Roughly two weeks later, Gbeve learned he had been deported to his native Mexico, and she said ICE has not told her family why he was expelled so quickly. Ramírez Zavala spent most of his life in the U.S. working as a farmhand in rural Illinois. His wife of 30 years, a legal permanent resident, is considering returning to Mexico to be with him. For Gbeve, whose husband is also in the Air Force, that would leave no one to care for her children, ages 2 and 4, if both parents were deployed. 'That would be our entire support network,' she said.
DHS did not provide case-specific information for most cases, but said at least seven people had been previously deported, at least eight had removal orders, and at least two had DUI or drug-related convictions. DHS stressed that U.S. military service does not automatically grant legal immigration status or exempt foreigners from the consequences of violating U.S. immigration laws. The Pentagon declined to comment.
Experts say the shift could undermine military readiness, particularly at a time when the U.S. is at war in Iran. Service members affected by detentions have lost emotional support and child care, delayed deployments, or been forced to request leave. Some have been left caring for children alone. The crackdown also conflicts with military recruiting materials that advertise immigration benefits for the families of enlisted soldiers.
A small number of spouse detentions sparked public backlash and prompted intervention, including by the secretary of homeland security, Markwayne Mullin, that secured their release.
California has one of the largest active-duty military populations in the country, with installations such as Camp Pendleton, Travis Air Force Base, and Naval Base San Diego. Immigrant spouses and parents of service members in those communities could be directly affected by the detentions. The AP story was picked up by Telemundo stations in San Diego and the Bay Area, underscoring regional interest.
For decades, spouses and parents of military personnel were generally protected from deportation under a bipartisan consensus. The AP investigation shows that under the Trump administration, these family members are now being detained routinely, often while they attempt to regularize their status through policies available to close relatives of service members.
The AP findings highlight the human cost of immigration enforcement on military families and raise sharp questions about military readiness. With DHS declining to release comprehensive data, the full scope of the detentions remains unknown. Military families, advocates, and lawmakers are likely to push for clearer policies and greater accountability.
