US Army Sergeant Joe Serrano, a three-time veteran of deployments to Afghanistan, told the Associated Press (AP) on 21/4 that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained his wife, Deisy Rivera Ortega. The couple had arrived at an immigration office to finalize Ortega's green card application.

"Someone opened the door, led us down a hallway, and at the end of the hallway, my wife was arrested. There was no warrant, no summons. They took my wife, and didn't say anything to me", Serrano recounted.

Joe Serrano (left) and his wife. *Photo: ABC News*

Ortega, a native of El Salvador, was subsequently held at the El Paso Processing Center in Texas. Serrano visited his wife on 19/4 and could only speak with her through a glass partition.

Ortega filed a complaint with the Federal District Court regarding her detention, requesting the court issue an order to prevent her deportation to Mexico, where she has no family. If deported to Mexico, Serrano would be unable to travel to that country to visit his wife, due to US military regulations for active-duty personnel.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later stated that Ortega entered the US unlawfully in 2016. A judge issued a deportation order for her in late 2019, but Ortega was granted a temporary stay of deportation. According to the family's lawyer, she also possesses a valid work permit.

"A work permit does not mean the individual has valid legal status to remain. Ortega is currently detained pending deportation", DHS stated.

Immigrants inside the El Paso Processing Center, Texas. *Photo: El Paso Matters*

Ortega had previously applied for the "parole in place" policy with her husband, a mechanism established in 2022 that previously allowed military spouses to shorten their path to obtaining a green card.

However, DHS rescinded this policy in 4/2025, clarifying that "having a family member serving in the military is not sufficient to exempt a foreign national from the consequences of violating US immigration law".

This marks the second instance of a US military spouse being detained by immigration authorities. Earlier this month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Annie Ramos, 22, the Honduran wife of Sergeant Matthew Blank. She was detained while accompanying her husband to Fort Polk base to register for benefits for military family members. Ramos was released after nearly one week, but was required to wear a GPS ankle monitor.

By Duc Trung (According to AP, Hill, CBS News)