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Army veteran's wife detained at routine ICE check-in, faces deportation

Sep 15, 2026·Location: Dallas, TX

Country of origin: Honduras

Army veteran's wife detained at routine ICE check-in, faces deportation
Photo via CBS News

Arelys Barahona-Martinez, a 40-year-old Honduran national, was detained by ICE on June 10 during a routine, scheduled check-in appointment at an ICE office in Dallas, where she had checked in without incident for years. She was transferred to a detention facility in Oklahoma and faces deportation under a removal order issued in 2005, after having entered the U.S. without authorization more than 20 years ago and again in 2018, reportedly to seek medical care for her son. She is married to retired Staff Sergeant Wilmer Trujillo, who served 20 years in the U.S. Army and Texas National Guard with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan; the couple's household includes his daughters and her 20-year-old son, a U.S. citizen with neurofibromatosis. Trujillo says she has no criminal record and that they have been working with an attorney to correct her immigration status. Her attorney argues she is eligible for permanent residency through marriage to a U.S. citizen and may qualify for a parole-in-place program for military families, though USCIS rejected her application in November 2024. She was later granted bond but remains in custody pending payment; advocates say she is one of at least 52 parents and spouses of active-duty service members detained since the administration took office.

Timeline

Sep 15, 2026—Granted bond but remained in custody pending payment; husband continued pushing for her release
Jun 10, 2026—Detained by ICE during routine check-in appointment in Dallas
Jun 1, 2025—Transferred to ICE detention; husband and lawyer worked to fight deportation and correct her status
Nov 1, 2024—USCIS rejected her parole-in-place application
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