AP Finds ICE Has Detained More Than 50 Spouses and Parents of Active-Duty Troops — Six Have Been Deported

An Associated Press investigation published August 5, 2026 found that more than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty U.S. service members have been detained by immigration authorities since the start of Trump’s second term. At least six were deported and one self-deported; at least eight remained in custody. AP built the count — the first of its kind, because the government does not track these cases — from federal court records compiled by the Habeas Dockets project, existing coverage and verification with families and attorneys, and said the true figure is likely higher. Several detentions occurred at scheduled USCIS appointments while families sought military parole-in-place, a status whose average processing time has more than doubled to 12 months.

Spouses and parents of service members have been largely shielded from removal by bipartisan practice for decades, and the military has advertised those protections to recruits. A former ICE deputy chief counsel from Trump’s first term told AP such cases were rarely placed into removal proceedings absent violent crime. AP documented members taking administrative leave and one halting a deployment for lack of a caregiver, bearing on readiness during the Iran war.

The April 2025 policy stating that military service does not exempt noncitizens from immigration consequences remains in effect; no court has ruled on it.