{"id":55564,"date":"2026-04-22T00:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T04:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/military-wife-detained-by-ice-despite-active-duty-husbands-service\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T00:26:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T04:26:00","slug":"military-wife-detained-by-ice-despite-active-duty-husbands-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/military-wife-detained-by-ice-despite-active-duty-husbands-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Military Wife Detained by ICE Despite Active Duty Husband’s Service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

The spouse of an active-duty Army sergeant is currently being held at an immigration detention center in El Paso, Texas, highlighting the Trump administration’s reduced consideration for military families facing immigration issues.<\/p>

Army Sergeant Jose Serrano, who completed three deployments to Afghanistan, reported that immigration officers took his wife into custody on April 14 during what was supposed to be a routine meeting with immigration officials to advance her permanent residency application.<\/p>

“A person opened the door, escorted us through the hallway, and at the end of the hallway, my wife got arrested,” Serrano said. “Arrested without any order, any warrant … They took away my wife. They don’t tell me anything.”<\/p>

Deisy Rivera Ortega, originally from El Salvador, has since filed a legal challenge in federal court to contest her detention and prevent deportation to Mexico, a country where she has no connections and where active military personnel face travel restrictions.<\/p>

Her legal representative, Attorney Matthew James Kozik, noted that Rivera Ortega possessed valid employment authorization and had previously received protection from removal to El Salvador.<\/p>

The Department of Homeland Security responded via email that Rivera Ortega crossed into the United States without authorization in 2016 and received a final removal order from a judge in December 2019.<\/p>

“Work authorization does not confer any legal status to be in the country. Rivera-Ortega remains in ICE custody pending removal,” the department stated, without clarifying whether deportation to Mexico was being considered.<\/p>

Rivera Ortega is currently housed at the El Paso Service Processing Center, where Serrano was permitted to visit on Sunday, speaking with his wife through a protective barrier.<\/p>

The couple had sought relief under the “parole in place” program, which previously offered military spouses a potentially faster route to permanent legal status.<\/p>

However, last April, DHS rescinded a 2022 directive that treated military service by immediate family members as a “significant mitigating factor” when making immigration enforcement decisions. The current policy declares that “military service alone does not exempt aliens from the consequences of violating U.S. immigration laws.”<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The spouse of an Army sergeant who served three tours in Afghanistan was arrested by immigration officials during a routine appointment in Texas. The case highlights the Trump administration’s shift away from providing special consideration for military families in immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":55563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[833],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776831960052.jpg?fit=1000%2C620&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-esc","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67241,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/military-wife-freed-from-immigration-detention-after-month-long-hold\/","url_meta":{"origin":55564,"position":0},"title":"Military Wife Freed From Immigration Detention After Month-Long Hold","author":"Admin","date":"May 15, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The spouse of an active-duty Army sergeant has been freed from immigration detention following intervention by a U.S. senator. 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