Trump Administration Detains Military Families Facing Deportation

Immigration enforcement actions against relatives of active-duty US service members have left dozens of military families facing detention and deportation, according to an Associated Press investigation. The report found that more than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty personnel had been detained since Donald Trump began his second term, while at least six had been deported and one had left the country voluntarily. At least eight immediate family members of US military personnel remained in federal immigration custody when the AP conducted its investigation.

The news agency described its findings as the first count of these detentions, which the government does not track in its records. Among the families affected are Pedro Gutiérrez and Giovanna Pérez. Pérez faces deportation proceedings after visiting a military installation in Corpus Christi, Texas, where she expected to obtain identification documents connected to her husband's military benefits, according to the family's attorney, Alex Martínez, in an interview with Univision published October 19, 2026.

Military service has traditionally been viewed by immigrant families as a potential path toward stability in the United States. Programs offering medical assistance and other family benefits helped attract and retain noncitizens serving in the armed forces, while an immediate family member's military service was previously considered a significant mitigating factor in immigration enforcement decisions.

Martínez said the treatment of military families had changed under the Trump administration. He argued that information provided to military authorities to facilitate family benefits was now potentially being used to identify relatives for immigration enforcement. "ICE set a trap for them; it's insane," said Martínez, describing what he characterized as a betrayal of service members who had trusted the government to protect their families.

The attorney said Pedro was undergoing military training in Georgia when the incident involving his wife occurred. Because he remained in training, he had limited options to leave the military and respond to a potential separation from his children if Pérez were deported. According to Martínez, Pérez received a notification on September 21 instructing her to travel to a military base in Corpus Christi, approximately three hours by car from her home. She was told to bring all her children to collect military identification cards that would allow the family to access health care benefits.

After arriving at the installation, Pérez was questioned and told that her appointment did not appear on the day's schedule. Martínez said she passed through several security checkpoints before encountering officers displaying Immigration and Customs Enforcement insignia. "Expedite the process you are going through," Martínez recalled the officers telling Pérez.

He said she was subsequently instructed to bring her documents to an ICE processing center. At the center, which Martínez described as a check-in facility rather than a detention center, Pérez received notification that she was facing deportation proceedings. The attorney said she was attending her court hearings and that her first hearing had already taken place.

Martínez also questioned whether information collected through military family-benefit programs was being shared appropriately with immigration authorities. He said the circumstances raised concerns about whether the use of sensitive family information could be unlawful or irregular.

The attorney maintained that the program had originally been designed to support military households and encourage enlistment by providing assistance to relatives. He argued that using the program's information for immigration enforcement undermined that purpose. "I feel betrayed," stated the title of a Univision video about a young Texas service member seeking to prevent his father's deportation.

The video title highlighted another reported case involving a military family confronting immigration enforcement. Pérez remains in deportation proceedings, according to Martínez. Her legal team intends to pursue available remedies as she prepares for additional court hearings.