ICE detains wife of US Army soldier at immigration appointment

April 22, 2026

Deisy Rivera Ortega, wife of a US Army sergeant with nearly 28 years of service, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while attending what the couple believed was an interview for a parole-in-place program that allows military families to remain in the US during immigration proceedings. Rivera Ortega, who entered the country from El Salvador in 2016 seeking asylum, had previously received a court order preventing her deportation due to torture concerns, which also granted her legal permission to stay in the United States. Despite this protection from removal to El Salvador, ICE now plans to deport her to Mexico as a third-country removal under current Department of Homeland Security policies.

Who is affected

Deisy Rivera Ortega (detained military spouse from El Salvador)
Sergeant First Class Jose Serrano (active-duty US Army soldier, Rivera Ortega's husband)
Annie Ramos (previously detained military spouse from Honduras)
Sergeant Matthew Blank (active-duty US Army staff sergeant, Ramos's husband)
Military families with undocumented members seeking parole-in-place protection

What action is being taken

ICE is holding Rivera Ortega at a detention facility in El Paso
ICE has indicated it will deport Rivera Ortega to Mexico (third-country removal)
DHS is moving to deport people to countries other than their place of origin

Why it matters

This case represents a significant shift in immigration enforcement affecting military families who previously had pathways to legal status through programs like parole-in-place. The detention of spouses of active-duty service members—particularly one whose husband served nearly 28 years and deployed to Afghanistan—raises questions about the balance between immigration enforcement and support for military families. The use of third-country removals to circumvent torture-based protections that previously prevented deportation demonstrates a fundamental change in how existing court orders and humanitarian protections are being interpreted and enforced.

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: BBC