Veterans in jeopardy
The second Trump administration’s stringent immigration policy is targeting millions of foreign-born veterans who have served in the U.S. military for deportation. One of them is Army veteran Sae Joon Park, who immigrated to the United States from South Korea at age seven. Park joined the Army at 19 and earned a Purple Heart for injuries he sustained while on duty in Panama. Although he served, he was faced with deportation after a prior drug offense. Park was provided with deferred action as a veteran for 14 years, but in June 2025, he discovered a removal order against him and chose to self-deport to prevent detention. “They let me join, serve the country—the front line, taking bullets for this country. That should mean something,” Park said. “This is how veterans are being treated.”
Policy changes place veterans at risk
During Trump’s first term, the administration sought to limit access to citizenship for immigrant soldiers and create barriers for green card holders who want to become soldiers.
While those efforts largely failed, military experts now caution that current deportation policies still have the potential to target veterans and their families. Ret. Lt. Col. Margaret Stock, a volunteer who helps veterans who are being deported, stated, “President Trump campaigned on a pledge of mass deportations, and he didn’t leave out military members, veterans, and their families. It hurts military recruiting, military readiness, and our nation’s national security.” In the Biden administration, military service by noncitizens was a “significant mitigating factor” against deportation proceedings. In April 2025, that regulation was rescinded, stating now that military service alone does not automatically excuse an individual from immigration enforcement. Active duty members currently serving are still largely exempt, but family members who are not citizens of veterans are left vulnerable. Families Also Targeted
Deportations reach beyond veterans themselves. Narciso Barranco, a father of three U.S. Marines, was arrested in California this year. His son, Alejandro Barranco, testified before a Senate subcommittee, saying, “Deporting them doesn’t just hurt my family. It hurts all of us.” Specialists point out that veterans who have PTSD or a substance abuse disorder are extremely vulnerable to deportation due to contact with the criminal justice system.
Limited data, rising concern
The number of deported veterans cannot be known. A 2019 federal report found 250 veterans were placed in removal proceedings between 2013 and 2018. Up to 10,000 veterans may have been deported, but Congress and DHS have not confirmed.
Legislators have proposed bills to protect immigrant soldiers and their families. There are provisions that would grant green cards to parents of service members and allow deportees who are already removed from entering. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Army veteran, emphasized, “This is about doing the right thing for men and women who wore the uniform of our great nation.”
Support networks in Mexico
Deported veterans often have few resources when deported abroad. José Francisco Lopez, a Vietnam War veteran who was deported in 2003, opened up a support house in Ciudad Juárez with shelter, food, and counseling for deported veterans. Similarly, Hector Barajas opened up a Deported Veterans Support House in Tijuana in 2013.
A Bumpy Transition
Self-deporting to South Korea for Park meant adjusting to a country he had not visited in 30 years.
“It’s a whole new world.”
I am trying to really learn everything all over again,” he said. His attorney has started a petition to overturn his criminal convictions and cancel his deportation order, which has accumulated over 10,000 signatures. Park is not certain if he will ever be allowed back into the U.S., saying, “This is not the country that I volunteered and fought for.” A National Dilemma With over 40,000 foreign nationals serving in the US military and a further 115,000 veterans within the country, large-scale deportations of troops are a fair concern for national security and the promise of protection to those who fought for the nation. Lobbying continues for legislative protections, but veterans and their families remain exposed under current policies.
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