American Servicemembers Liberate Camps — They Don’t Run Them

On April 29th, 1945, American soldiers from the 42nd and 45th Infantry Divisions arrived at Dachau, the first concentration camp established by the Nazi regime. What they discovered shocked them: scenes of neglect, cruelty, and mass death. Survivors were emaciated, the living mixed among the dead. In the final days before liberation, guards had forced thousands of inmates on a death march — many perished along the way. The soldiers weren’t prepared for what they saw. Their mission had been combat. What they found was something else entirely. And in that moment, their uniforms came to symbolize more than strength — they stood for human dignity and justice.

I raise the memory of Dachau because history gives us warnings. What started in Germany as deportation and detainment evolved into something far worse. It’s a reminder that the early steps toward injustice can appear orderly, even lawful — until they aren’t.

Today, I’m deeply concerned that the Trump Administration is considering using U.S. military bases to detain and process immigrants. As a veteran, I believe this would be a serious mistake — not just for those who would be confined, but for the integrity and mission of our military.

Military personnel are not trained to detain civilians. They are not corrections officers, nor are they immigration agents. When we use military installations to house immigrants in mass detention, we risk turning places meant for defense into tools of domestic repression. We also ask too much of our servicemembers — men and women who volunteered to serve their country, not to lock up vulnerable families seeking a better life.

This creates a crisis of conscience for the rank and file. On one hand, military subordination to civilian authority is a fundamental part of our democracy. On the other hand, we risk damaging morale, trust, and cohesion when we force troops into roles that contradict the values many of them joined to uphold. No one enlists in the Armed Forces to turn people away from freedom’s doorstep.

If you claim to support the troops, then do not support using military bases as deportation sites. It will harm recruitment. It will strain unit cohesion. And it will drag the military into a political battle that undermines its professionalism and its purpose.

American servicemembers are not supposed to enforce mass detention — they’re supposed to stand for liberty. We’ve seen what happens in places where that line disappears. It starts with “temporary measures.” It ends in regret.

We still have a choice. We can resist this misuse of military force and reaffirm what our uniforms truly represent.

We can be better. We must be better.

Pablo Capistrano served in the Navy and is a proud resident of Colorado. He believes America is strongest when it lives up to its ideals.