Veterans without citizenship face deportation risk as Trump ramps up enforcement

WASHINGTON — Veterans who lack U.S. citizenship fear being swept up in the Trump administration’s renewed deportation push as immigration enforcement expands beyond civilians, affecting a growing number of service members who have already risked their lives for the country.

One of them is Julio Torres, a 44-year-old Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq and now preaches as a pastor in East Texas. Born in Mexico and legally immigrated to the United States when he was five, Torres carries a green card and a record of military service, but he has been detained by immigration authorities in the past year during a period of intensified enforcement. He says the charge from a decade ago for drug possession, which still complicates his permanent residency, has left him fearing that a deportation order could separate him from his wife and children. He was taken to an immigration detention center in Texas after a stop at the Dallas–Fort Worth airport while attempting to reenter the United States from a trip to visit relatives in Mexico, and he spent five days in detention.

The threat of deportation has intensified PTSD symptoms for Torres. He experiences night terrors and emotional distress when he cannot be near his wife and children, and he worries that deportation to Mexico could place him at risk from cartel violence due to his status as a veteran and a pastor. He says the threat forces him to question his ability to provide for his family and to stay connected to the community he serves.

Nationally, the issue reaches well over 100,000 military veterans living in the United States who do not have citizenship, according to estimates in recent years by the Congressional Research Service. While recruiters have long framed military service as a fast track to citizenship for soldiers and their families, the Trump administration’s immigration agenda has put veterans at renewed risk of removal. Democrats in Congress have begun to raise alarms about veterans who have either been forced to leave the country or had family members detained in ICE operations.

On Wednesday, Rep. Mark Takano, a California Democrat, introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at addressing the problem. The legislation would require the Department of Homeland Security to identify noncitizen immigrants who are U.S. veterans and provide them with an opportunity to apply for lawful immigration status. It is co-sponsored by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida and Amata Coleman Radewagen, the nonvoting delegate from American Samoa, and would extend deadlines and streamline the process for veterans seeking citizenship. Takano emphasized the national-security value of noncitizens who serve in the armed forces.

"It’s very important for Americans to understand the contributions of noncitizens to our national security. They’re often posed as threats to our personal safety, but this is a story about how they play an essential role — tremendous numbers of our current military forces are noncitizens," Takano said in an interview.

Beyond the immediate bill, the landscape includes veterans who have already been deported. David Bariu was deported to Kenya in 2008 after serving in the Army and Air Force Reserve because he had enlisted while in the United States on a student visa. Bariu says he struggled with depression after years in detention, then being deported to a country where he faced difficulties finding work. Living near an area where Al-Shabaab operated, Bariu kept his service a secret for years, saying he did not want to risk his safety. He later obtained U.S. citizenship again under a Biden-era program designed to help deported veterans and now helps lead the Deported Black Veterans of America, which connects veterans worldwide with immigration lawyers and benefits guidance. The group holds weekly Zoom meetings with deported veterans, providing networking and advocacy.

Naturalization for service members has long been possible for those with lawful permanent residency, but the process can be complex for those moving between bases or stationed overseas. Takano’s bill would allow service members to apply for citizenship during basic training and would establish a streamlined review process for removal proceedings, while also enabling quicker pathways for green cards for family members. Other Democrats have proposed measures to extend green-card eligibility to families of service members, although Republicans have shown limited willingness to challenge the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

A federal judge previously ruled that the former administration could not impose mandatory wait times for citizenship, but the current administration has signaled plans to appeal that ruling as it continues to press its enforcement agenda. DHS has defended its actions as enforcing the law, even as lawmakers argue that the consequences disproportionately affect people who have served the country.

Torres remains hopeful that Congress will treat the issue as a veterans matter rather than a political one. He says the struggle is about the people who served and the families who depend on them. "This is about a veteran," he said. "I love my nation. And yes, even though this nation at this moment in time does not consider me part of this nation, I consider this to be my nation. I consider this my homeland."