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// DOSSIER — wife-active-duty-army-sergeant-deported-honduras
Wife of Active-Duty Army Sergeant Deported to Honduras Under Immigration Crackdown
REL_TIME: 26 Aug 2026 11:42Z · LANG: EN
Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo, the wife of active-duty U.S. Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juárez, was deported to Honduras on August 24, 2026. Detained by ICE on July 11 outside a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in front of her 6-year-old daughter, Villafranca Trejo had been held at Camp East Montana at Fort Bliss. She is at least the seventh spouse or parent of an active-duty U.S. service member deported amid broader immigration enforcement actions that have seen over 50 military family members detained. While DHS maintains she received due process based on a 2017 removal order, her husband and legal counsel note that appeals and a military parole-in-place application were still pending.
// Background
Villafranca Trejo entered the United States from Honduras in 2016 at age 18. In 2017, an immigration judge issued a removal order in absentia after she missed a hearing. She met Turcios Juárez in 2018, and they married legally in 2022. Turcios Juárez, who enlisted in the Army and became a U.S. citizen in 2024 following a Middle East deployment, discovered the deportation order while applying for her citizenship. Under historic ICE policy, immediate family members of active-duty troops eligible for status adjustments were rarely detained or deported.
// Key Developments
- Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo was deported to Honduras after spending over six weeks in ICE detention at Fort Bliss, Texas.
- Her husband, Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juárez, expressed concern over balancing his military duties and caring for their 6-year-old daughter alone.
- She is at least the seventh immediate family member of an active-duty service member deported under current immigration enforcement policies.
- DHS stated Villafranca Trejo received due process due to a 2017 order of removal issued after a missed court hearing.
- Her defense team had an appeal pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals and had submitted a military parole-in-place application.
// Timeline
-
Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo enters the United States from Honduras.
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An immigration judge issues a final order of removal after Villafranca Trejo misses a court appearance.
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Villafranca Trejo marries Hedar Leonel Turcios Juárez.
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Turcios Juárez becomes a U.S. citizen after a nine-month deployment to the Middle East; the couple discovers the 2017 removal order while applying for her green card.
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A motion to reopen Villafranca Trejo's immigration case is denied, prompting an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
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ICE agents detain Villafranca Trejo outside a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in front of her 6-year-old daughter.
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Villafranca Trejo is deported to Honduras from the Camp East Montana detention facility.
// Perspectives
[Department of Homeland Security (DHS)]
Maintains that Villafranca Trejo entered the U.S. illegally, received due process, and was removed following a targeted enforcement operation due to a 2017 final order of removal.
[Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juárez & Family Legal Counsel]
Contends that Villafranca Trejo never received notice of the 2017 hearing and that DHS executed the deportation despite ongoing legal appeals and an active application for military parole-in-place.
[U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar]
Opposes the deportation, arguing that targeting immediate family members of deployed or active-duty service members betrays military families.
// Quotes
“I don’t know if I will be able to continue with this. I have to make a plan to make sure I can still fulfill my military responsibilities — but also take care of my family.”
“We were following the rules — we did everything we could on our side to fix this problem.”
“My heart breaks for her, her children and the soldier who must feel so betrayed by the country he is sacrificing for.”
“If you’ve got an active-duty military member that’s married to someone now, and that’s going to give her the opportunity to get a green card, you wouldn’t detain them, much less execute the removal order.”
