Trump Faces Probe Over ICE Raids on Troops’ Families
https://thepunchup.substack.com/p/trump-faces-probe-over-ice-raids
Trump Faces Probe Over ICE Raids on Troops’ Families
Democrat lawmakers want to know why relatives of active-duty troops are being detained and deported as DHS tells PunchUp “having a family member in the military is not a free pass."
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Congress is demanding to know why Donald Trump’s ICE agents keep arresting the spouses and parents of serving American troops in a “cruel” Department of Homeland Security betrayal of those who “put their lives on the line” for the nation.
More than 60 Democratic lawmakers sent a letter on Sunday to DHS, the Pentagon, and the Department of Veterans Affairs calling for answers over why at least 50 husbands and wives and parents of active-duty personnel have been detained in the president’s mass deportation blitz. Six have already been kicked out of the country, according to the Associated Press, as I reported Tuesday for the Daily Beast.
A DHS spokesperson told PunchUp: “Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws.”
The Dems are aghast. “These efforts imperil military readiness, weaken service members’ morale, and betray America’s promises to the people who put their lives on the line for our nation,” they wrote in the letter, which was reported by the AP.
Signatories include Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, and Tammy Duckworth, along with scores of other House Democrats. “Donald Trump is breaking our country’s promises to service members by tearing apart dozens of military families who were promised immigration protections,” Warren said. “That’s just plain cruel, and it’s hurting our military readiness and morale.”
For decades, under both Republicans and Democrats, the government promised troops that their closest relatives wouldn’t be deported while they served. Trump, 80, has quietly turned his back on that pledge.
Some soldiers have been forced to delay deployments to look after their children because ICE grabbed their spouse, while military recruiters are still telling would-be enlistees that signing up brings immigration protections for their families.
Danitza James, president of Repatriate Our Patriots, which helps military families and veterans facing deportation, told AP: “They trust our government to take care of their families, and they’re not doing that.”
Now lawmakers want answers. “This report is appalling and shows the unbelievable cruelty at the center of the Trump immigration agenda,” said Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate veterans’ affairs committee. “We will be demanding answers and accountability.”
The Pentagon told the AP it would “reply directly to the authors of the letter.” The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from PunchUp.
Days before the letter was sent, Trump launched a Military Spouse Commission—fronted by Jennifer Rauchet, wife of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, 46—supposedly to make life better for troops’ partners. In an Aug. 6 Federal Register letter, the president said that military spouses are “intrinsically linked to the good order, readiness, and retention of our military.”
Try telling that to those who are in ICE detention.
*A version of this story also appeared in the Daily Beast.
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