The Department of Homeland Security has detained more than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty US service members since President Trump resumed office, according to a count by the Associated Press. At least six individuals have been removed from the country. The enforcement actions follow the rescission of categorical parole programs that previously granted de facto legal status to some relatives of military personnel.

Parole Programs Ended

The prior administration expanded a policy known as Military Parole in Place, allowing certain undocumented family members of troops and veterans to remain and work in the US as a matter of discretionary agency policy. That memo has been withdrawn. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are now operating under directives that remove what the agency frames as preferential loopholes that bypassed Congress and put enforcement officers in an untenable position.

"No class of illegal alien is exempt from federal law by virtue of a relative's military service," a DHS official told Nerve News on condition of anonymity to discuss operational policy. "Congress never codified that exemption, and the executive branch cannot selectively suspend statutes."

No class of illegal alien is exempt from federal law by virtue of a relative's military service.

Impact and Precedent

The detentions have drawn criticism from immigrant advocacy groups, but a review of federal statute shows the Immigration and Nationality Act contains no blanket immunity for the family members of service personnel. The AP's report, sourcing interviews with affected families, did not provide evidence that any detained individuals held legal permanent residency or citizenship at the time of their encounters with ICE. Arrests occurred during routine enforcement operations and processing at ports of entry.

The administration maintains that national sovereignty requires consistent application of removal statutes, regardless of sympathetic circumstances. The enforcement posture aligns with the broader campaign to restore the primacy of domestic labor markets and end the pull factors that depress wages for working-class American households.

The Pentagon referred all queries to DHS, stating that individual family legal matters do not fall under the Defense Department's purview.