An active-duty U.S. Army soldier has called ICE “out of control” after his wife was detained last week. Rivera-Ortega has been in the U.S. since 2016. She married Sgt. First Class Jose Serrano in 2022. According to CBS News, she was granted legal protection in 2019, which prohibits her deportation to her native El Salvador. However, when she appeared for her appointment at an immigration office in El Paso on April 14, she was abruptly detained by ICE agents. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims that Ortega entered the country illegally.
The government documents reportedly show that Ortega was summoned to the immigration office for an interview related to an application for Parole in Place, a program that offers deportation protections to military spouses or parents who are in the U.S. without legal status. Serrano submitted a Parole in Place application on behalf of his wife last year.
Here’s what makes this worse: Rivera Ortega was granted protection under the Convention Against Torture in 2019 — a UN treaty that legally blocked her deportation to El Salvador. DHS isn’t disputing that. Instead, they’re threatening to deport her to Mexico, a country where she…
— Dittie (@DittiePE) April 20, 2026
The DHS spokesperson called Ortega “a criminal illegal from El Salvador.” The statement further reads: “She was previously convicted for illegal entry. She received full due process, and an immigration judge issued her a final order of removal on Dec. 12, 2019.”
According to ICE’s online detainee tracking system, Ortega was being held at the agency’s El Paso processing center. DHS says that she could now be deported to a third country, like Mexico. The soldier said, “They really don’t care, sir. They said ‘we cannot send her to El Salvador, but we gonna send her to Mexico.”
Jose Serrano, 51, who has served in the military for 27 years, including in Afghanistan, says that he still doesn’t understand why his wife was detained. He told the media that Ortega held a valid U.S. work permit through 2030. Before her detention, she reportedly worked at two hotels inside Fort Bliss. Her military ID labels her the spouse of an active-duty Army soldier.
In an interview with CBS News, Serrano said, “I don’t really understand why, because she followed the rules of immigration by the T since day one.”
“I love the Army. (The) Army helped me out for almost 28 years. It’s not the Army, sir. It’s ICE. ICE is out of control right now, sir, taking away rights, as soldiers, that we have,” he further added.
Serrano now fears that he might never be able to meet his wife if she is sent to Mexico. “We don’t know nobody in Mexico. Plus, as a military, we’re not allowed to go to Mexico,” he said.
The Puerto Rico-born soldier further shared how his wife’s detainment has taken a toll on his mental health, especially since he has a history of traumatic brain injury, PTSD and depression. He further revealed that he can barely sleep now.
Sergeant First Class Jose Serrano has served in the U.S. Army for 27 years. He served in Afghanistan. He has a traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and depression. He is sleeping two hours a night since last week.
On April 14, his wife Deisy Rivera Ortega went to an immigration office… https://t.co/TYPL3OCqGB
— Mike Young (@micyoung75) April 21, 2026
He further claimed that the ICE agents didn’t have a warrant and “they just took her away.” During an interview with CNN, he said that the people who work in the building just told him to find a lawyer.
Matthew Kozik, attorney of Rivera-Ortega, said, “I served the Army as a judge advocate for 10 years. And as a judge advocate and a combat veteran, bronze star service member, what is going on is absurd.” He has filed a habeas petition in federal court, arguing that Ortega’s detention is unlawful.
This is not the first time when a soldier’s family member has been detained by ICE. A few weeks ago, ICE arrested the newly-wedded wife of a soldier at a military base. On April 2, Sergeant Matthew Blank, 23, took his wife Annie Ramos, 22, to Fort Polk, Louisiana, to register her as a military spouse and get her moved in. Before the procedure could be completed, ICE agents entered the base and arrested Ramos.
Danitza James, a U.S. military veteran and president of the group Repatriate Our Patriots condemned ICE’s actions and said that it creates “uncertainty” for service members and their families. She said, “When the promise to protect those who serve is delayed, military readiness suffers, because a force cannot be mission-ready when its families are left in limbo.”
According to the DHS, Ortega will remain in ICE custody pending removal.
