The Trump administration initiated deportation proceedings against 34 former military members over the past year, marking a dramatic shift in immigration enforcement policy. Federal data obtained by The New York Times reveals that authorities arrested 125 former service members for immigration violations and placed 248 family members into deportation proceedings during the same period.

This represents a stark departure from previous administrations' policies, which gave military service members and their families more deference. The Biden administration had specifically avoided targeting veterans and their relatives for immigration enforcement. However, the Trump administration rescinded this approach last year, arguing that no one should be exempt from immigration law, particularly those convicted of certain crimes.

One high-profile case involves Sae Joon Park, a Purple Heart recipient who left Hawaii for South Korea in June under deportation threat despite not living there since childhood. Park joined the military after high school, served in Panama, and later faced drug possession convictions. Immigration advocates argue this policy does little to enhance public safety and instead punishes those who risked their lives for the nation. Senator Elizabeth Warren called it an insult to veterans, saying the administration's way of thanking them is by targeting them and their families for deportation.