US Army Sergeant's Wife Faces Deportation To Mexico In Trump's Immigration Crackdown

Last Updated:April 23, 2026, 16:08 IST

Deisy Fidelina Rivera Ortega, the wife of Sergeant 1st Class Jose Serrano, was taken into custody on April 14 during a routine immigration interview.

The wife of an active-duty US Army sergeant faces deportation to Mexico after being in immigration detention for more than a week, according to the attorney representing her, amid an aggressive immigration crackdown under Donald Trump’s administration.

Deisy Fidelina Rivera Ortega, the wife of Sergeant 1st Class Jose Serrano, was taken into custody on April 14 as she was attending a routine immigration interview related to a programme that allows undocumented family members of US military personnel to remain in the country legally, according to ABC News.

Her legal team said they received information that Rivera Ortega would be released from detention. While she was initially happy to be released, her lawyer Matthew Kozik found that she would not be released and instead deported to Mexico, after contacting officials with the Department of Homeland Security to verify details.

“DHS/ICE denied that she was being released back into the United States, but that Ms. Rivera-Ortega was informed that she would be released, but that her release was deported to Mexico," Kozik said.

Ortega’s husband has been deployed to Afghanistan three times. He previously told ABC News that he and his wife have been “doing everything by the book."

“She goes to work or to church. That’s the life of my wife, Daisy," he said, adding that he was stable during treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder until his wife was detained. “I can’t sleep even with the medication, I can’t even read."

DHS Calls Ortega ‘Criminal Alien’

The Homeland Security Department issued a statement, saying, “On April 14, ICE arrested Deisy Fidelina Rivera-Ortega, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador. She was previously convicted for illegal entry – a federal offence."

The department said Ortega entered the US in 2016 near Rio Grande Valley, Texas, and was released on bond. “She received full due process, and an immigration judge issued her a final order of removal on December 12, 2019. Work authorisation does not confer any legal status to be in the country," it added.

According to ABC News, Rivera Ortega currently works for IHG Army Hotels at Fort Bliss, where her husband is currently stationed. Documents show that she has a valid work permit through 2030 and was previously granted withholding of removal from her home country, El Salvador.

Her legal team is preparing to mount an appeal against her deportation.

The Trump administration’s broad mass deportation crackdown has come under criticism for violating existing policies by targeting people of all ages, from children and families to suspected criminals, by making arrests outside courtroom hearings, during traffic stops and in workplace sweeps. His ‘zero-tolerance’ approach towards immigration has sparked violent clashes in several US cities.

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