Delia C. Ramirez of Illinois.
Workplace of Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez
Democratic Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez, rating member of the US Home of Representatives’ Veterans’ Affairs Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, says she has led a brand new investigation into the Trump administration’s arrest, detention, and deportation of non-citizen service members, veterans and navy households.
Ramirez, the daughter of working-class Guatemalan immigrants, who represents Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District, mentioned on Sept. 4 that she was joined within the probe by Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin of Illinois, in addition to by Democratic Congressional Representatives Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania and Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire.
The lawmakers have led 55 members of Congress in dispatching a letter to the US Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) and the US Division of Protection (DOD) looking for an evidence for what they are saying is a violation of DHS’s long-running policy to guard service members, veterans, and their speedy members of the family from immigration enforcement.
“The Trump administration’s (actions) threaten US nationwide safety pursuits and erode the US navy’s credibility when it makes guarantees to its service members who’ve put their lives on the road for our nation,” wrote the lawmakers.
“We demand an evidence for why DHS is betraying its guarantees to service members who play a key function in defending US nationwide safety,” they added.
Ramirez mentioned they strongly consider that the Trump administration is focusing on navy households utilizing info the households voluntarily supplied to the federal authorities in reference to their service.
She mentioned that, when making use of for immigration benefits, like “parole in place,” navy households provide a significant amount of personal data, together with their bodily addresses and data like eye colour and peak, nation of delivery, and extra.
“Now, USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Providers) could also be utilizing that info to refer service members or their households to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for removing proceedings, even when they had been beforehand deprioritized for enforcement actions,” Remirez mentioned.
The coalition, Ramirez mentioned, is looking on the 2 companies to supply info relating to what number of non-citizens are serving within the navy, in addition to an inventory of service members, veterans, and members of the family who’ve been arrested, detained, or deported since January 2025. The coalition additionally seeks to find out the affect of the brand new insurance policies on recruitment, readiness, and morale, and to study what details about non-citizen service members and navy members of the family the Pentagon gives DHS and ICE. Ramirez requested for the data to be turned over by Sept. 16.
Ramirez famous that, in April 2025, ICE rescinded its former coverage of contemplating navy service a “important mitigating issue” when deciding whether or not to pursue immigration enforcement and issued a new policy that’s “much less protecting of service members and their households.”
Following the coverage change, Ramirez mentioned “a number of constituents affected by the administration’s reckless adjustments to immigration protections for navy households have shared their tales with representatives in Congress.”
