After 27 years in uniform, Sgt. 1st Class José Serrano thought a routine immigration appointment in El Paso would move his family closer to stability. Instead, he says his wife, Deisy Fidelina Rivera-Ortega, was handcuffed and taken away by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on April 14, right in the middle of what was supposed to be a paperwork interview.
Rivera-Ortega, who has work authorization and previously won protection from being sent back to El Salvador, now faces possible removal to a third country. The appointment was tied to her application for Parole in Place, according to the couple and court records. In a statement to CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security said she entered the United States in 2016, was given a final order of removal on Dec. 12, 2019, and “remains in ICE custody pending removal.”
Local coverage has noted that Rivera-Ortega worked at IHG Army Hotels on the Fort Bliss installation and held an active employment authorization document valid through 2030. Her attorney, Matthew Kozik, has filed a habeas petition in federal court that asks a judge to order her release, according to KVIA. Parole in Place is a discretionary program available to certain military family members that can help preserve a person’s presence in the country and, in some situations, allow them to pursue lawful permanent residence, per guidance from USCIS.
What withholding of removal means
Rivera-Ortega was granted withholding of removal under the Convention Against Torture in 2019. That status bars the United States from sending her back to El Salvador, but it does not fully shield her from being deported to another country, according to guidance from the Executive Office for Immigration Review at the Department of Justice. It is a narrow protection: no return to the specific country where someone fears torture, yet no blanket immunity from removal elsewhere.
That nuance is now at the heart of the family’s legal fight. Their attorneys argue that any attempt to ship Rivera-Ortega off to a third country raises thorny procedural and legal questions, and they are asking the courts to scrutinize how ICE is handling her case.
Why military families are alarmed
Advocates say this is not an isolated incident. They point to a string of recent detentions of spouses and relatives of active-duty service members this spring, including the detention of a newlywed military spouse linked to Fort Polk, a case highlighted by ABC News. The pattern has military families on edge.
Critics warn that yanking away a soldier’s spouse or parent can undercut morale and complicate readiness, especially when troops are left trying to do their jobs while their families are in crisis or suddenly living overseas without them. For a base like Fort Bliss, where deployments and training rotations are routine, that kind of disruption can ripple well beyond one household.
What happens next
Kozik has asked a federal court for emergency relief while he presses ICE to either release Rivera-Ortega or at least pause any removal effort. CBS News reported that ICE’s online detainee locator listed her this week at the El Paso Service Processing Center. Serrano says that if his wife is removed to Mexico or another country, travel limitations tied to his military duties would make it very difficult for him to visit her.
“At that interview, she was taken away without cause or explanation and remains confined as of today,” Kozik told reporters, calling the detention “absurd” in comments reported by The Daily Beast. For now, the couple is sprinting through the courts while military-family advocates push federal officials to spell out how immigration enforcement is supposed to treat the loved ones of those in uniform.
