Ramirez, Warren, Lawmakers Slam Trump Admin for Efforts to Tear Apart Military Families, Convert Military Bases Into “Traps” for Non-Citizens

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Ranking Member of the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, joined U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), to lead a bicameral letter pressing the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Veterans Affairs (VA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on their coordinated efforts to arrest, detain, and deport hundreds of veterans and military families.

In April 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rescinded its long-standing policy that treated military service as a "significant mitigating factor" when deciding whether to pursue immigration enforcement, and replaced it with a new policy stating that military service alone "does not automatically exempt" non-citizens from enforcement actions. At the same time, DoD has continued to recruit new service members with the promise of immigration protections.

Recent reporting by the Associated Press reveals that, since January 2025, more than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty service members have been detained, and at least six have been deported. ICE's statistics show that the agency has arrested 16 non-citizen armed forces members since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2026. Some service members have reportedly needed to take leave or delay deployment because ICE detained their families.

"These efforts [...] betray America's promises to the people who put their lives on the line for our nation," wrote the lawmakers. Alarmingly, DoD has been reportedly targeting individuals at military installations, detaining them on military property, and turning them over to ICE - effectively converting military bases into "traps" for noncitizens. For example, a 22-year-old military wife was recently detained while attempting to obtain a military spouse I.D. Military officials allegedly called DHS and held her in a room until ICE agents arrived to take her to a detention center.

"DoD's participation in civil immigration enforcement activities raises both ethical and legal concerns, including potential violations of the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits using the armed forces of the military for civilian law enforcement," wrote the lawmakers.

The members also warned that if service members were to be swept up in any of these enforcement actions, it could separately constitute a violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which provides protections to all members of the United States military on active duty, including non-citizens, from civil actions-such as immigration proceedings-that interfere with their military duties.

The lawmakers requested that the agencies explain the enhanced coordination between DoD and DHS, restore long-standing immigration protections for family members of service members, and explain what steps they are taking to protect troops, veterans, and their families from unjust immigration enforcement by August 23, 2026.

In the House, the letter was coled by Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), and Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas) and signed by Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.), Daniel Davis (D-Ill.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Bill Foster (D-Ill.), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Chuy García (D-Ill.), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas), Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), John Larson (D-Conn.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.), Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), and Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.), joined in signing the letter.

The letter was also signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

The letter was endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Immigration Defenders Law Center, the Seattle Clemency Project, Common Defense, Repatriate Our Patriots, and League of United Latin American Citizens.

For the full letter, CLICK HERE.

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Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez continues to be on a planned medical leave. The letter reflects her office's work to advance the legislative priorities of IL-03 while she is on leave.