A 27-year-old veteran reportedly disclosed his wife after federal immigration agents arrested him during a routine visit to an immigration office in El Paso, Texas.
Who is Daisy Rivera Ortega?
Deisy Rivera Ortega is from El Salvador and has lived in the United States since 2016. She married Staff Sergeant Jose Serrano in 2022. Jose Serrano is a U.S. Army veteran with 27 years of service, including service in Afghanistan. She had a military identification card that listed her as the spouse of an active-duty Army soldier, CBS News reported.
Rivera Ortega had a valid work permit at the time of his detention and worked at two hotels within Fort Bliss in El Paso. Texas. Her husband said she followed all the rules from the beginning.
“I really don’t understand why, because she’s been following immigration rules from day one,” Serrano told CBS News.
what happened?
Rivera Ortega detained, CBS News reports Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) April 14, during a routine visit to the immigration office in El Paso, Texas. She was there for an interview related to her application for in-place parole. The program is designed to help military spouses without legal status by providing protection from deportation and a possible path to permanent residency.
Serrano said he applied for the program for his wife last year and the case is still pending. He also told CBS News that before his wife was taken into custody, he informed officials of his military service but received no explanation for his arrest. Rivera Ortega remains in custody at ICE’s El Paso Processing Center, according to the agency’s online detainee system.
Why is she being detained despite being protected by law?
In December 2019, an immigration judge granted Rivera Ortega protection under the Convention against Torture. This is a United Nations agreement aimed at preventing people from being sent back to countries where they may face harm. As a result, she was unable to be deported to El Salvador and was allowed to live and work legally in the United States, CBS News reported.
However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told the network that Rivera-Ortega entered the United States illegally and was ordered deported on December 12, 2019. The Department of Homeland Security called her a “guilty illegal alien” and said it was based on a conviction for illegal entry, a federal misdemeanor. The department also said she received “full due process” before issuing the order. “Rivera-Ortega remains in ICE custody pending transfer,” DHS added.
While her legal protections prevent her from being returned to El Salvador, they do not prevent the government from deporting her to another country. According to CBS News, Rivera Ortega has been informed that she may be sent to Mexico.
“We didn’t know anyone in Mexico,” her husband told the network.
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Matthew Kozik, an attorney representing Rivera Ortega and her husband, has filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing that her detention is unlawful.
Serrano said he was not blaming the military but ICE.
“I love the Army. The Army has helped me for nearly 28 years. This is not the Army, sir. This is ICE,” he said.
“Sir, ICE is now out of control and taking away the rights we have as soldiers,” he added.
