President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown is taking a toll on some military veterans and their family members, according to a veterans’ advocate who says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement appears to be showing little consideration of noncitizens' U.S. military service when pursuing enforcement actions.
During peacetime, noncitizen members of the U.S. armed forces can obtain citizenship after one year of service, while spouses of U.S. service members may be eligible for expedited naturalization outside the United States. But these individuals still need to take steps to apply.
"Some veterans mistakenly believe that enlistment itself made them citizens, while many encounter administrative failures or never received any assistance to complete the process," said Shawn VanDiver, a U.S. Navy veteran and veterans' advocate.
VanDiver said many who have yet to attain citizenship are now finding they may have waited too long. As a result, they or their loved ones are at risk of detention and deportation, he said.
ICE has ramped up enforcement of federal immigration laws during Trump’s second term as president, with arrests and deportations increasing across Texas and the U.S.
"There used to be prior ICE guidance that treated military service as a significant mitigating factor in deciding whether or not to pursue enforcement. That doesn’t mean anything anymore," VanDiver said. "Tons of military families have been affected. Veterans, active-duty service members, relatives, military spouses, individuals who had sought military parole in place. These are all becoming a significant point of contention between veterans' organizations and the administration."
The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute estimates that, as of 2022, approximately 731,000 U.S. military veterans were born outside the United States. Of these, 117,000 veterans were neither native born nor naturalized citizens.
Margaret Stock — an attorney with Cascadia Cross Border Law Group in Anchorage, Alaska, and a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel — said focusing on noncitizen veterans alone understates the scope of the issue.
“The military continues to hold out the promise of immigration benefits for recruiting purposes, and it’s a false promise right now, because the president has decided not to provide those benefits to people,” Stock said. “The recruiters are telling people, ‘If you join the military, you’re going to be able to get your family member legal, or you’re going to be able to get your spouse legal, or you’re going to be able to get your parents legal. You’re going to be able to get expedited citizenship yourself.’ And they’re not being honest with the recruits.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security responded to a request for comment from Houston Public Media about its policies regarding noncitizen veterans with the following statement.
"DHS and ICE value the contributions of all those who have served in the U.S. military,” a DHS spokesperson said. “U.S. military service alone does not automatically grant lawful immigration status, or exempt aliens from the consequences of violating U.S. immigration laws."
Combined Arms, a Houston-based organization focused on the post-9/11 veterans' community, steers clear of any discussion of immigration policy. But the group's CEO, Mike Hutchings, said the group remains dedicated to helping former Afghan and Iraqi interpreters through its Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) and Allies Program in Texas.
RELATED: Afghans worried as Trump administration cracks down on their immigration to U.S.
"As many of these families face growing uncertainty, our commitment does not change," Hutchings said. "In 2025 alone, that meant support for 572 Special Immigrant Visa holders and wartime allies, and our program continues in 2026 to connect these allies with resources and community.”
Stock, the attorney and retired lieutenant colonel, said there is irony in the immigration crackdown happening at this point in U.S. history.
“It’s the 250th anniversary of our country, and the Declaration of Independence had a clause in it, where one of the reasons why we were rebelling against King George was because he was preventing the migration of people to America and preventing their naturalization,” Stock said. “And we seem to be back 250 years later to a situation where that’s happening.”
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