Experts warn that detaining troops’ family members undermines military preparedness even as the U.S. is at war in Iran. At least eight immediate family members of U.S. service members remain in federal immigration custody. military service alone does not automatically grant lawful immigration status, or exempt aliens from the consequences of violating U.S. immigration laws.” He said that during his time as an ICE prosecutor, immigration authorities rarely detained service members’ immediate family members unless they had committed violent crimes. Recruiters for the Army and the National Guard still promote enlistment as a way to protect family members from immigration enforcement.