20.10.2026 22:50
US Marine Jessica Martinez, who successfully completed her military mission in the Middle East and returned to her country, experienced the biggest shock of her life. Learning while she was on the front line that her father had been deported, the decorated soldier was only able to hug her father at the Mexican border. Reacting to the injustice she experienced, Martinez said, "I fought for my country, but I feel like I've been stabbed in the back."
Marine Jessica Martinez, who returned to the US after completing her military mission in the Middle East aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, experienced a great shock. The decorated soldier, whose father was deported while she was on duty for her country, was only able to hug her father at the Mexican border.
US Marine Jessica Martinez encountered a bitter truth when she returned to her home state of California after completing her mission in the Middle East. While she was on duty, her father Humberto Martinez was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) teams and deported to Mexico; she went to the US-Mexico border crossing in San Diego to see him.
REUNITED IN TEARS
According to CNN, Martinez, who returned to the US aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln warship after deployment in the Middle East, reunited at the border crossing with her father, whom she had not seen for a long time. The female soldier, promoted to non-commissioned officer and awarded for her success in her duty, could not hold back her tears as she hugged her father.
Martinez, who stated that one of her reasons for joining the army was to give her family legal status, expressed her feelings with the words, "I am sorry and feel as if I have been stabbed in the back. I am disappointed. We do not come from a criminal family as they say. They say my father is a criminal, but he raised a warrior."
In the reunion moment reflected in the footage, her father was seen trying to console his daughter, who served her country but was disappointed, and expressing hope that they would reunite in the US one day.
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: WILL NEVER BE READMITTED
US Department of Homeland Security officials, who made a statement on the matter, did not allow any step back. In the written statement, the following expressions were used: "Mr. Martinez has repeatedly shown disrespect for and mocked our country's laws. His lawyer can object as much as he wants, but he is wasting his time. Mr. Martinez will never be readmitted to the US."
THE NUMBER OF SIMILAR INCIDENTS IS INCREASING
According to information reported by the Associated Press, since President Donald Trump took office again in January 2025, there have been more than 50 US military personnel whose at least one relative has been detained or deported.
It was learned that father Humberto Martinez was stopped in traffic by federal agents on January 31, handcuffed, and deported to Mexico the same day.