Wife of Army soldier to be released after being arrested by ICE

The wife of an Army soldier who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after an immigration appointment last week is going to be released from federal custody, her husband, Sgt. First Class Jose Serrano, told CBS News Wednesday.

Serrano’s wife, El Salvador native Deisy Rivera Ortega, was arrested by ICE on April 14 during an appointment related to a pending application for an immigration program, known as Parole in Place, designed to protect military spouses and parents from deportation.

Serrano, who has served in the Army for 27 years, including three deployments in Afghanistan, first revealed to CBS News earlier this week that his wife had been arrested by ICE after living in the U.S. for a decade.

On Wednesday, Serrano said he was informed his wife would be released from an ICE detention center in El Paso.

“I’m really happy, sir,” he told CBS News. “I won’t sleep tonight.”

The Department of Homeland Security told CBS News at the time that Rivera Ortega had been arrested because of a deportation order dating back to 2019. DHS said she was convicted of entering the U.S. illegally, a federal misdemeanor.

Because Rivera Ortega was granted a legal protection in 2019 from being deported to El Salvador, Serrano said he was informed she could be sent to a third country, like Mexico, where she has no ties.

CBS News has reached out to representatives for the DHS for comment on Rivera Ortega’s release.