ICE releases wife of U.S. Army soldier and Afghanistan veteran, after a monthlong detention

Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday released the wife of an active-duty U.S. Army soldier and Afghanistan war veteran after a month in detention, her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Jose Serrano, told CBS News.

Serrano’s wife, Deisy Rivera Ortega, a native of El Salvador, was arrested by ICE on April 14 during an appointment with immigration in El Paso, Texas. Serrano, who served in the Army for 27 years, including three deployments to Afghanistan, first revealed to CBS News last month, his wife was arrested by ICE after living in the United States for about a decade.

She attended the appointment as part of an application for admission to a special immigration program known as Parole in Place, designed to protect from deportation military spouses and parents who are in the United States illegally or without permanent legal status.

In an interview Thursday, Serrano said he was elated when he learned of his wife’s release, saying he was close to giving up. He said they gave each other a “big hug.”

“I have no words to describe how happy I feel,” Serrano told CBS News shortly after picking up his wife from an ICE detention center in El Paso. “When they called me for my wife to be released today, I started shaking, tears in my eyes and my heart beating very fast.”

Rivera Ortega’s arrest was one of several ICE arrests in recent months involving relatives of U.S. service members. Although historically rare, such arrests have become more frequent under the second Trump administration, which has pledged to oversee the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history.

At the time, the Department of Homeland Security said ICE arrested Rivera Ortega because of a deportation order dating back to 2019. DHS also said she was convicted of illegally entering the United States, a federal offense.

Serrano said his wife was working legally in the United States with a government permit stemming from legal protection she received under the U.N. Convention Against Torture that prevents her from being deported to her native El Salvador. If granted, her request for on-site parole could also allow Rivera Ortega to obtain a green card or permanent residency based on her marriage to a U.S. citizen.

Serrano said his wife was informed during her ICE detention that she faced deportation to a third country, such as Mexico, because her legal protection only prevents authorities from sending her back to El Salvador. Serrano, who married Rivera Ortega in 2022, said his wife’s detention exacerbated his mental health issues, noting that he had previously been treated for head trauma, PTSD and depression.

In an interview with CBS News last week, the White House border czar Tom Homan vowed to “look into” Rivera Ortega’s case after being questioned about it.

While asserting that those who received deportation orders were given “due process,” Homan also acknowledged that this was a “difficult” case and noted that ICE agents “have discretion” to decide who to target or not target.

Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a veteran, told CBS News in a statement Thursday evening that she personally called Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to request Rivera Ortega’s release.

“I am grateful to Secretary Mullin for answering my personal call to release Deisy, but she – and so many others – should never have been in this situation in the first place. I will never stop working to protect our veterans and their military families,” Duckworth said. “They fought for this country, we must fight for them.”

Serrano told CBS News that he and his wife were committed to going through the immigration process to “fix” his legal situation.

“My wife and I will be on time for every appointment. That’s something you learn in basic training,” he added.