Hernandez joined the military in 2024, driven by a wish to guard her loved ones. Her service stemmed from both gratitude for the existence her parents had fashioned for her and a sense of debt to her father, Aniceto Hernandez-Reyna, who arrived in the United States from Guanajuato, Mexico, at 17, having crossed the border without legal permission in search of employment so he could raise a family in safety. In Hernandez’s mind, she was giving back what he had given her.
“I walked into the recruiter’s office. I felt like I needed to do something for my parents. I didn’t want them to live in fear anymore,” Hernandez said. “I love my country.”
Her work did not protect her father. On May 16, officers from ICE detained Hernandez-Reyna at a gas station near Phoenix, in front of his two younger sons, while Hernandez was 2,000 miles away at Fort Stewart, Georgia.
The Military Parole Program That Failed Her Family
Not long after she joined the Army, Hernandez put her father forward for Military Parole in Place, which is an immigration program that allows undocumented parents and close relatives of service members to remain in the country. The Army has framed the policy as a matter of military readiness, arguing that family immigration concerns can weigh on troops and get in the way of their duties.
“Such personal concerns have the potential to adversely affect a service member’s ability to focus on mission-essential duties,” an April Army legal notice to the force says.
While Hernandez-Reyna’s application remained unresolved, ICE held him in custody. The initiative permits undocumented spouses, parents and children of service members and veterans to stay in the United States on a case-by-case basis, generally for one-year terms. It may also smooth the way toward work authorization or a green card, even if it does not ensure legal status.
The Department of Homeland Security released a statement on the matter, and a spokesperson for the department is quoted as saying “Programs like Military Parole in Place are not automatic, and having a pending application does not confer legal status,”.
Trump’s Crackdown Targets Families Behind the Uniform
President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown targets the “worst of the worst” criminal offenders among migrants. An ABC News review of state and federal records found no records of violent crime for Hernandez-Reyna. He has several traffic violations, including a DUI in 2002.
The man who raised Hernandez is still being held at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. Since her own detention began, Hernandez has managed to speak with him only once, and she has no way of knowing when she might hear from him next.
“That was a slap in the face. I’m here serving the country, and this happens to my own family,” Hernandez said. “It’s like a guessing game. Are my parents OK? Are my siblings OK? It’s a lot mentally. Sometimes I have a hard time focusing because I’m just so stressed out.”
Other Service Members Have Seen Their Families Taken
More than 50 spouses and parents of service members have been detained during Trump’s second term, according to an investigation from the Associated Press in April. At least six of those individuals have been deported. The case of Hernandez-Reyna is not alone.
Some families of people serving in the military have had relatives detained or sent away by ICE, even though those relatives have not been found guilty of any violent crimes.
The Pentagon’s Turn Toward Immigrant Recruits
The Pentagon is drawing recruits from the immigrant community at an accelerating rate even as ICE holds and removes members of military households. Green-card holders joining the armed forces have risen sharply in recent years, mirroring wider demographic shifts across the country.
According to Defense Department data reviewed by ABC News, the military brought in nearly 11,000 green-card holders last year, compared with roughly 6,800 in 2021, which represents a 62% rise. The upward trend appears set to keep going this year.
Many of the military’s most consequential roles are closed to non-citizens, since they are forbidden from commissioning as officers.
Annie Ramos’s Detention at Fort Polk
Federal agents detained the wife of an Army staff sergeant as she attempted to register for military benefits at Fort Polk, Louisiana, shortly after the couple married. The removal order against her dates back to 2005, when she was an infant of 20 months. After five days behind bars and extensive media attention, she was freed with an ankle monitor. Yet a DHS spokesperson stated at the time that the government would keep pressing for her deportation.
“All I have ever wanted is to live with dignity in the country I have called home since I was a baby,” she said in a statement in April. “I want to finish my degree, continue my education, and serve my community — just as my husband serves our country with honor.”
The Cost of the Shift
The founder of Repatriate Our Patriots, Danitza James, has reported seeing a large volume of cases involving active-duty service members and veterans whose family members have been deported. The organization’s mission is to help bring those deported family members back home. According to James, the number of cases she has seen is “heartbreaking.”.
The Defense Department has offered a flat response to the detentions. A spokesperson said the Pentagon “respects the rule of law and the officers who enforce it” in regard to these ICE actions.
“Such personal concerns have the potential to adversely affect a service member’s ability to focus on mission-essential duties.”
The statement accurately describes what happened, but it fails to explain why a pending application did nothing to prevent Hernandez’s detention. The system exists to shield military families, yet Hernandez-Reyna was still found guilty.
What the Numbers Mean
The recruitment shift is real. During Trump’s second term, more than 50 spouses and parents of service members have been detained, and the military is now drawing in sharply rising numbers of green-card holders.
The system meant to shield Hernandez-Reyna broke down instead. His application remained pending while ICE took him, and the program’s declared aim — keeping service members free from family worries — did not hold up here.
The Pentagon follows the rule of law, yet the law permitted this to occur. Hernandez-Reyna remains in custody, his daughter-in-law sits thousands of miles away carrying out service to the nation, and the guessing game carries on.
The Unfinished Story of Citizenship
For many years, the armed forces have used citizenship as an incentive to get people to join up. Once someone has served for a full year, they are able to apply for quickened citizenship. According to data from the Department of Homeland Security, the number of service members gaining U.S. citizenship through their time in uniform has risen by more than three times since 2020.
To fill its ranks, the Pentagon is looking to immigrant communities. Now, the cost of that turn can be seen in the Hernandez family.
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