When "Support Our Troops" Becomes Meaningless

I felt both saddened and angered after reading the Associated Press story on August 5 reporting that "Trump's immigration crackdown has detained more than 50 military spouses and parents."

When the parents or spouses of military service members are taken into ICE custody, nobody may be available to care for their children or their property if those service members are deployed overseas to a war zone. Why should there be no exception for such extenuating circumstances?

Whether the spouse or parent of a military service member was once undocumented is, in my view, beside the point. Consider a simple analogy: if my car insurance or registration lapsed, I would be driving illegally until I renewed them. Once I obtained valid insurance and registration, I would be legal again, and my previous lapse would not continue to define my status.

Arresting and deporting the spouses and parents of military personnel—especially during a time of war—would be a cruel and inhumane act. It would render the slogan "Support Our Troops" meaningless. If any undocumented immigrants deserve consideration for amnesty, the spouses and parents of active-duty service members and veterans should be at the top of the list.

In the late 1980s, the United States granted permanent residency to a Lebanese citizen and his family after he helped federal agents capture a TWA hijacker overseas. The hijacker was lured onto a boat traveling from Beirut to Larnaca, Cyprus.

In 2003, as U.S. forces advanced toward Baghdad, an Iraqi nurse who cared for Private Jessica Lynch donated her own blood to help save Lynch's life and twice alerted U.S. troops to Lynch's location so they could rescue her. The nurse was later evacuated to Kuwait with her husband and eventually settled in the United States.

Last March, former U.S. Marine Brian McGinnis protested during a Senate hearing against what he described as a war with Iran "for Israel," saying that many Americans opposed it. Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) joined Capitol Police officers in removing McGinnis from a Senate Armed Services Committee subcommittee hearing. 

During the incident, McGinnis suffered a broken arm. In my view, this episode reflects how little respect our government shows veterans—not the President, the secretary of defense, members of Congress, or even the Capitol Police.

What should we expect from a commander in chief who has been criticized for the following?

• Attacking Gold Star parents whose son, a Muslim U.S. Army officer, died while serving in Iraq.
• Referring to some U.S. service members and war dead as "suckers" and "losers."
• Expressing disdain for the late Senator John McCain, a Vietnam prisoner of war, by saying he preferred "people that weren't captured" during a televised event in Iowa on July 18, 2015.
• Telling the pregnant widow of a U.S. soldier killed in Niger in October 2017 that her husband "knew what he was getting into."
• During the 2024 campaign, violating Arlington National Cemetery rules prohibiting commercial photography and videography without prior written permission.
• Disrespected Arlington Cemetery's rules prohibiting the filming or photographing of visibly mourning individuals at gravesites. Trump later said, "No one told me about it."

As I finished reading the Associated Press story mentioned at the beginning of this article, the phrase "Support Our Troops" immediately came to mind. I have always believed that slogan means honoring those who risk their lives to defend our nation, looking after their loved ones, and providing them with the protection and moral support they deserve. If military families are not afforded that consideration, then the slogan "Support Our Troops" loses much of its meaning.

Caption photo at bottom:  Trump disrespected Arlington Cemetery's rules prohibiting the filming or photographing of visibly mourning individuals at gravesites. Trump later said, "No one told me about it." Photo credit. pressreader.com 

Mahmoud El-Yousseph is a Palestinian freelance writer and retired U.S. Air Force veteran. He writes about U.S. foreign policy, Middle Eastern affairs, and justice.