Army wife pulled off deportation flight mid-journey, returned home to Louisiana
Aug 28, 2026·Location: Louisiana
Country of origin: Brazil

Maisa Lopes Eliaser, a 32-year-old Brazilian national married to Fort Polk Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo, was detained by ICE on July 8, 2026, after missing an immigration appointment and overstaying a tourist visa she had used to enter the U.S. in 2019. She spent more than a month held at the ICE processing center in Basile, Louisiana, separated from the couple's five-year-old son. On August 14, she was placed on a deportation flight to Brazil, but after a stop in Bogotá, Colombia, ICE officers received a call and gave her the choice to return to the U.S., which she took, and she was released from custody. Eliaser said she struggled to sleep and felt dehumanized by the detention experience. Following media coverage and a Congressional inquiry into deportations of military family members, she has a new immigration appointment to reopen her case and pursue her green card application, while the family's appeal remains pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Timeline
Sources
- Army staff sergeant’s wife brought back to US after mid-flight ICE reversal
scrippsnews.com·Aug 14, 2026·archived copy
- Wife Of U.S. Soldier Removed From Deportation Flight, Released From Federal Immigration Custody
HuffPost·Aug 14, 2026·archived copy
- Wife of U.S. soldier removed from deportation flight, released from immigration custody
nbcboston.com·Aug 14, 2026·archived copy
- Wife of US soldier removed from deportation flight, released from federal immigration custody
WJCL·Aug 15, 2026·archived copy
wbaltv.com·Aug 15, 2026·archived copy
- Wife of US soldier is removed from deportation flight and released from federal immigration custody
kait8.com·Aug 15, 2026·archived copy
- Fort Polk soldier’s wife returns home after ICE detention, deportation flight reversal
KALB·Aug 28, 2026
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