Democratic Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez, ranking member of the US House of Representatives’ Veterans’ Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, says she has led a new investigation into the Trump administration’s arrest, detention, and deportation of non-citizen service members, veterans and military families.
Ramirez, the daughter of working-class Guatemalan immigrants, who represents Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District, said on Sept. 4 that she was joined in the probe by Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin of Illinois, as well as by Democratic Congressional Representatives Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania and Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire.
The lawmakers have led 55 members of Congress in dispatching a letter to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the US Department of Defense (DOD) seeking an explanation for what they say is a violation of DHS’s long-running policy to protect service members, veterans, and their immediate family members from immigration enforcement.
“The Trump administration’s (actions) threaten US national security interests and erode the US military’s credibility when it makes promises to its service members who have put their lives on the line for our country,” wrote the lawmakers.
“We demand an explanation for why DHS is betraying its promises to service members who play a key role in protecting US national security,” they added.
Ramirez said they strongly believe that the Trump administration is targeting military families using information the families voluntarily provided to the federal government in connection with their service.
She said that, when applying for immigration benefits, like “parole in place,” military families provide a significant amount of personal data, including their physical addresses and information like eye color and height, country of birth, and more.
“Now, USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) may be using that information to refer service members or their families to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for removal proceedings, even if they were previously deprioritized for enforcement actions,” Remirez said.
The coalition, Ramirez said, is calling on the two agencies to provide information regarding how many non-citizens are serving in the military, as well as a list of service members, veterans, and family members who have been arrested, detained, or deported since January 2025. The coalition also seeks to determine the impact of the new policies on recruitment, readiness, and morale, and to learn what information about non-citizen service members and military family members the Pentagon provides DHS and ICE. Ramirez asked for the information to be turned over by Sept. 16.
Ramirez noted that, in April 2025, ICE rescinded its former policy of considering military service a “significant mitigating factor” when deciding whether to pursue immigration enforcement and issued a new policy that is “less protective of service members and their families.”
Following the policy change, Ramirez said “multiple constituents affected by the administration’s reckless changes to immigration protections for military families have shared their stories with representatives in Congress.”
