ICE detains wife of US Army soldier at immigration appointment

ICE detains wife of US Army soldier at immigration appointment22 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleCourtesy of attorney Matthew KozikSergeant First Class Jose Serrano and his wife, Deisy Rivera OrtegaThe wife of an active-duty US soldier in El Paso, Texas, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement - at least the second instance of a military spouse being held by ICE this month.ICE arrested Deisy Rivera Ortega on 14 April, according to the Department of Homeland Security, and she is being held at a detention facility in El Paso, records show.Rivera Ortega went with her husband to an interview for the parole-in-place programme, which allows family members of US military personnel to stay in the US while their immigration cases play out."They just took my wife away," her husband, Sergeant First Class Jose Serrano, told the BBC.The situation left him anxious and distraught, he said."I'm searching on the internet how I can help my wife," he said. "If not, I'm walking in the house back and forth. Or jumping in my car and just driving for four hours."In a statement, DHS said Rivera Ortega is a "criminal illegal alien from El Salvador" convicted of the "federal offense" of illegally entering the US.Rivera Ortega, who is from El Salvador, crossed the border into the US in 2016 in the Rio Grande Valley region and applied for asylum, according to her attorney, Matthew James Kozik.DHS confirmed her date of entry. Court records provided by her attorney show that in December 2019, a judge ordered Rivera Ortega's removal from the US to El Salvador.But in the same order, the judge also granted Rivera Ortega what is known as withholding of removal under the convention against torture. That order prevented her from being sent back to her native country on the grounds she could face physical harm.The withholding of removal order also granted her permission to be in the United States.In the second...