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// DOSSIER — ice-detains-military-spouses-non-citizens
ICE Detains Military Spouses and High-Profile Non-Citizens Amid Policy Enforcement Shift
REL_TIME: 26 Aug 2026 06:12Z · LANG: EN
Under the Trump administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has intensified enforcement actions, detaining military family members and green card holders. Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo, wife of Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juárez, was detained in El Paso on July 11, 2026, over a 2017 in absentia removal order while appealing her status. Her scheduled deportation on August 17 was halted after a legal impediment developed. Similarly, Deisy Rivera Ortega, wife of active-duty soldier Jose Serrano, was detained in April 2026. In a separate action, ICE detained permanent residents Eissa Seyed Hashemi, his wife Maryam Tahmasebi, and their minor son in April 2026 due to Hashemi's mother's past role as a spokesperson in the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.
// Background
Historically, immediate family members of U.S. service members were granted discretionary protections such as Military Parole in Place, and military service was treated as a significant mitigating factor against deportation. However, DHS eliminated policy provisions that treated military service as a mitigating factor. Consequently, dozens of service members' relatives have been detained or deported. Meanwhile, federal lawmakers have initiated investigations into whether the Pentagon collaborates with DHS to detain non-citizens on or near military installations.
// Key Developments
- ICE agents detained Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo, wife of Fort Bliss Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juárez, in front of their six-year-old daughter on July 11, 2026.
- Villafranca Trejo was pulled off a scheduled deportation flight on August 17, 2026, due to an undisclosed legal impediment and returned to Camp East Montana.
- DHS policy now states that military service of an immediate family member alone does not exempt individuals from immigration laws.
- An Associated Press report identified more than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty service members detained under the Trump administration.
- ICE detained green card holder Eissa Seyed Hashemi and his family in Los Angeles based on his mother Masoumeh Ebtekar's 1979 Iran hostage crisis involvement.
// Timeline
-
Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo enters the U.S. from Honduras; Eissa Seyed Hashemi and his family become U.S. permanent residents.
-
An immigration judge in Kansas City issues an in absentia removal order for Villafranca Trejo.
-
DHS and Secretary Marco Rubio confirm the detention of Eissa Seyed Hashemi, Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son due to ties to Iranian politician Masoumeh Ebtekar.
-
ICE arrests Deisy Rivera Ortega, wife of Sgt. Jose Serrano, during a permanent residency appointment in El Paso.
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ICE agents arrest Villafranca Trejo during a traffic stop following a family trip to Walmart.
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The Nation publishes Maryam Tahmasebi's account detailing her family's ICE detention.
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DHS halts Villafranca Trejo's scheduled deportation flight following the development of a legal impediment.
// Perspectives
[Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juárez]
Appeals for his wife's release so his family can stay together and fulfill military duties while her legal status appeal is processed.
[Department of Homeland Security (DHS)]
Maintains that military service does not exempt individuals from immigration enforcement and enforces removal orders and national security revocations.
[Efraín Díaz-Carrasquillo (Immigration Attorney)]
Argues that while ICE has the authority to detain Villafranca Trejo, detention is unnecessary because she lacks a criminal record and is actively working to adjust her status.
[Maryam Tahmasebi]
Characterizes her family's detention as unfair bloodline punishment for her mother-in-law's historical political role in Iran.
// Quotes
“It took me a minute to realize what was going on — my heart just dropped. It was very hard looking at my daughter crying because of what was going on and not being able to do something and keep my family together.”
“Being in detention is a choice. We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App.”
“A person opened the door, escorted us through the hallway, and at the end of the hallway, my wife got arrested... Arrested without any order, any warrant... They took away my wife. They don't tell me anything.”
“The government had decided to punish my husband for being the son of a woman who was a translator for the Iranian hostage takers in 1979, before Eissa was even born.”
