An Associated Press investigation published in 2025 identified more than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty U.S. service members detained under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
The Pentagon's Parole in Place program, formalized in 2013, has allowed undocumented immediate relatives of U.S. troops to remain in the country and pursue legal status.
There are roughly 1.3 million active-duty service members in the U.S. armed forces, and about 40,000 non-citizens currently serve, according to Department of Defense figures.
ICE arrests surged after President Trump signed executive orders in January 2025 ending Biden-era enforcement priorities that had shielded many non-criminal immigrants.
A 2019 USCIS policy memo under the first Trump administration narrowed Parole in Place, and advocates say enforcement against military families has expanded sharply in 2025.