"It rips my heart apart": U.S. military veteran calls on ICE to release wife
An American citizen who served in the U.S. Army and the Texas National Guard for roughly 20 years is desperately urging federal immigration officials to release his wife, who is facing deportation to her native Honduras.
TL;DR
- Retired U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Wilmer Trujillo is advocating for his wife, Arelys Barahona-Martinez, who is detained by ICE and facing deportation to Honduras.
- Barahona-Martinez was detained during a check-in appointment and has a deportation order from 2005.
- Trujillo, who served 20 years and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, states his wife is vital to their family, especially their U.S.-citizen son with neurofibromatosis.
- Her lawyer claims she was unaware of the 2005 hearing where the deportation order was issued "in absentia" and that she lacks a criminal record.
- Barahona-Martinez first entered the U.S. illegally in 2005, returned to Honduras, and crossed again illegally in 2018 due to her son's medical needs and concerns for his safety in Honduras.
- The case highlights a trend of military spouses being detained by ICE, which has become more common under recent administrations.
- Her lawyer is pursuing options to reopen her immigration case and apply for Parole-in-Place to prevent deportation.
- Trujillo urges ICE to allow his wife to pursue her immigration case outside of detention to prevent family separation.