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The parents of a US Marine were detained by federal immigration officials and one of them was later deported after meeting with family members California military base, a case that has drawn attention to how the government’s immigration crackdown is affecting military families.
Steve Rios, a marine ocean shoreCalifornia, told NBC 7 San Diego His parents, Esteban Rios and Luisa Rodriguez, were taken into custody late last month while picking up his pregnant sister, Ashley Rios, and her husband, also a Marine, at Camp Pendleton.
the couple who came United States of America From Mexico Steve Rios said that three decades ago and with green card applications pending, he was stopped by immigration agents and later released with an ankle monitor. He was later taken into custody while checking in with federal immigration officials, he said.
Esteban Rios, who was wearing a cap and shirt that read, “Proud Father of the US Marines,” was deported Friday, his son said.
“He said, ‘Yeah, it’s my lucky shirt, so we’ll be OK,'” Rios recalled of his father.
Marine Corps recruiters have long promoted enlistment as a path to stability for families without legal immigration status, but experts say those assurances have evaporated as federal officials have moved to more strictly enforce existing laws.
The Marine Corps previously told The Associated Press that recruiters were informed they were “not the appropriate authority” meaning “the Marine Corps cannot secure immigration relief for applicants or their families.”
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to The Associated Press that people who break the law will face consequences.
A request for additional information was not immediately returned Wednesday. Messages seeking additional comment were sent to contact addresses and telephone numbers listed for the Rios family.
The episode comes as the Trump administration has been waging an aggressive immigration enforcement campaign that has at times ensnared relatives of military members and veterans.
In June, a Louisiana Marine veteran said immigration officials detained his wife while she was still carrying their 3-month-old daughter.
And in July, a US Army veteran born and raised in California was arrested during an immigration raid at a marijuana farm where he worked security. George Ratese, 25, was detained for three days at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, then released without charges.