An active-duty US Army sergeant said ice detained an army sergeant's wife during an immigration appointment at an El Paso office, taking his wife into custody while she held an active work permit and had followed immigration procedures, according to the soldier.
The soldier identified himself as Sgt. First Class Jose Serrano, who has served 27 years and deployed to Afghanistan, and he named his wife as Deisy Rivera Ortega, whom he married in 2022 and who has lived in the US since arriving in 2016.
DHS told CBS News that Rivera Ortega originally entered the country without authorization and that she had been ordered deported after receiving full due process, and the department described her as a "criminal illegal alien" following a conviction for illegal entry.
Government documents reviewed by CBS News show Rivera Ortega had been summoned to the El Paso office for an interview tied to an application for Parole in Place, a special program that can protect spouses or parents of service members from deportation and help them seek permanent residency, and Serrano said he had filed such an application on her behalf and that the case remains pending.
An immigration judge had granted Rivera Ortega protection under the Convention Against Torture, which blocks removal to her native country while leaving in place a deportation order and does not guarantee a route to citizenship or prevent removal to a third country that is not her native country.
Serrano told CBS News he informed officials at the office about his military service before the arrest, and he said his wife was told she could be removed to a third country such as Mexico despite having no ties there, a move Serrano said would complicate visits because of restrictions on travel by service members.
ICE's online detainee tracking system indicated Rivera Ortega was being held at the agency's El Paso processing center, and attorney Matthew Kozik said he filed a habeas petition in federal court arguing her detention is unlawful, calling the case "absurd" given his military background and legal view.
Reactions And Broader Consequences
Advocates and some legal experts say these arrests of relatives of service members have become more common as enforcement priorities have shifted, and DHS has said such cases involved people with deportation orders or who are otherwise in the US without legal status.
Supporters of Serrano pointed to his long military record and warned of impacts on military families, with Danitza James, president of Repatriate Our Patriots, saying the actions create uncertainty for service members and can affect readiness when families are left in limbo.
Similar cases reported in the media include the detention of a new bride at a military base and the removal of a veteran's son who authorities said lacked citizenship, details that advocates use to highlight how enforcement can reach relatives of service members and veterans.
Kozik and Serrano continue to pursue legal avenues to challenge the detention while the family and advocates press for reconsideration of enforcement decisions that separate service members from their spouses.
