675,000 people have been deported under the administration's 2025 campaign — and that toll now reaches into U.S. military ranks. Some non-citizen U.S. military veterans with criminal convictions say they face detention and expulsion under the operation. Benito Miranda Hernandez, a 42-year-old Iraq veteran born in Mexico and part of a San Diego reentry program, says he fears immigration agents will pick him up when his sentence ends in August.

From service in Iraq to a San Diego reentry program

Benito Miranda Hernandez oversees an overnight car park in San Diego as part of a reentry program meant to help people returning from prison rebuild their lives. He grew up in California, spent years on the East Coast and served three tours in Iraq as a member of the US military. Hernandez is not a US citizen; he was born in Mexico.

After cycles of incarceration largely tied to drug convictions, Hernandez said he finally feels he is helping others. "The satisfaction that I'm helping you makes me feel good. It's like my soul needs something good, you know?" he told reporters, quoting words his mother often used: "If you don't live to serve, it's not worth living."

Hernandez also said he worries that immigration agents could detain him once his sentence ends. "Just walking on the street, just walking out of the programme where I'm at, I can get picked up," he said. "I was willing to die for this f***ing country. I went to war for this f***ing country. And you want to try to deport me?"

The campaign and its stated target

After taking office for a second term in 2025, President Trump launched a large-scale deportation operation. Administration officials put the number of people removed at 675,000 as of January and have framed the effort as aimed at expelling those they describe as the most dangerous offenders.

Mastheads

That stated focus means many people who were previously untouched by enforcement now face new scrutiny. Immigrant veterans with criminal records have become part of the broader population that could be subject to detention and removal, even though their military service remains part of their public identity.

How deportation fears affect reintegration

Hernandez's case illustrates a tension between criminal-justice reentry efforts and immigration enforcement. Reentry programs rely on stability and community ties—things that can be undermined if participants fear immediate detention after they complete supervised sentences.

Program staff and participants say the threat of deportation changes behavior in predictable ways:

  • Avoiding public benefits or services that might trigger immigration checks
  • Skipping court or probation check-ins out of fear of exposure
  • Hesitating to enroll in job training, transitional housing or other programs tied to government records

Those changes make it harder for reentry programs to reduce recidivism and restore participants to steady employment and stable housing.

Political and social consequences

The deportation campaign is a major policy priority for the administration. Removing hundreds of thousands of residents nationwide signals a sharper approach to immigration enforcement and sends a message to voters and to non-citizen communities in the United States.

For communities with large numbers of non-citizen veterans, the policy raises practical questions. Some of those men and women have long-standing ties to the United States: they served in the military, lived in US states since childhood, and relied on local programs to rebuild after incarceration. Their potential removal complicates local planning for veteran services and public-safety initiatives that depend on stable participation.

Economic implications for local systems

Large-scale removals can affect local labor pools and the budgets of programs that work with returning prisoners and veterans. Communities and service providers may see fewer participants in workforce programs, shifts in available labor for certain jobs, and pressure on local budgets if planning assumptions change.

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His sentence ends in August, when he fears immigration agents will detain him: "I was willing to die for this f***ing country," Hernandez said.

This article was created with AI assistance.