Recruiter pitches joining the military to Minneapolis high school students to protect their families from ICE

By Haley Britzky, CNN

(CNN) — A military recruiter in Minnesota, pointing to fears over the ongoing ICE operations in Minneapolis, promoted joining the National Guard to high school students highlighting a program that can offer the immediate family of service members some protection against deportation.

The email, sent last week with the subject line “I know [it] is scary out there,” directly addressed ICE detentions.

“All of you have heard about how ICE and how they are taking people without any consideration. … If you are born here and you are 17yrs old, and in a position, like many, where your parents may not be documented. They need you to help!” the email said.

The email pointed to the Parole in Place, or PIP, a program that is run through US Citizenship and Immigration Services. The program is not necessarily guaranteed; it offers parents, spouses, and children of service members protection from deportation on a case-by-case basis, in one-year increments, the USCIS website says. As of fiscal year 2025 it took an average of 4.5 months to process Parole in Place requests.

Tensions have flared in Minneapolis in recent weeks as protestors have faced off with federal law enforcement amid an immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, particularly after the killing of 37-year-old Renee Good earlier this month.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday that more than 10,000 “criminal illegal aliens” have been arrested in Minneapolis, though CNN could not independently verify that number.

One source familiar with the recruiting email told CNN it was sent to roughly 200 students at at least one high school in the Minneapolis area. The email immediately caused confusion and concern among the students who received it, the source said.

CNN attempted to contact the recruiter who sent the email, but did not receive a response.

Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya, a Minnesota National Guard spokesperson, acknowledged the email adding that PIP cannot be used until after someone enlists and while the military “may assist with the process … it is driven by the service member and often requires a lawyer.”

“There was no command directive to share information about Parole in Place, but recruiters often do share information about programs that individuals are eligible for either during the recruiting process or after enlistment,” Tsuchiya said.

The Pentagon referred questions on Parole in Place to USCIS. USCIS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

There have previously been concerns in the military about promoting the program, given the Defense Department does not have control over who is admitted or approved. The Marine Corps, for example, told recruiters last year to stop promoting the program or “imply that the Marine Corps can secure immigration relief for applicants or their families,” a Marine Corps spokesperson previously told Military.com.

Recruiters often point potential recruits to programs and benefits that could make a difference to them individually during conversations about joining the military. One recruiter familiar with the Parole in Place program, however, told CNN it would be more effective for a recruiter to speak with school officials about the program before going directly to the students.

“The problem is the recruiter leads his email with the threat of ICE taking people ‘without any consideration,’” the recruiter who spoke to CNN said. “He then goes on to explain it’s basically the student’s job to protect their parents by enlisting. That’s intimidating, it’s predatory, and in my opinion an unethical way to do business in schools and with community partners.”

The better path, the recruiter said, would have been for the Minnesota recruiter to “drop off some literature and educate” school officials and partners on the programs, and allowing them to connect students to the recruiter if it’s of interest.

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