According to the report, at least six people have already been deported, one voluntarily left the country and eight remain in immigration custody. The agency notes that the government does not keep an official record of these cases and that the real number could be higher.
A change that worries the Armed Forces
For decades there was a bipartisan consensus to avoid the deportation of immediate family members of military personnel while they regularized their immigration status. However, the agency found that now several of them have been arrested even during appointments with immigration authorities, when they sought to access legal benefits available to the families of those who serve in the Army.
The impact has also reached the barracks. Some soldiers have had to delay deployments, request leave or take care of their children alone after the arrest of their wives or parents.
“How can I even concentrate on my military career if I have to worry about how my wife is?” Sergeant Hedar Leonel Turcios Juárez, whose wife was detained in front of their six-year-old daughter, told the AP.
DHS defends the policy
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to the same media that a family member's military service "does not automatically grant legal immigration status nor exempt foreigners from the consequences of violating immigration laws."
However, former ICE officials consider that the strategy represents a radical change compared to previous administrations.
"We wouldn't put them in deportation proceedings, period. That's crazy," said Dan Gividen, former ICE deputy legal director during the first Trump administration.
The investigation also reveals that the times to obtain immigration benefits for military families have doubled, leaving them more exposed to being detained while they wait for a resolution.
