A Department of Homeland Security logo is seen at their headquarters in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on August 8, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
The wife of a U.S. Army sergeant was deported back to Honduras, according to her family and the Department of Homeland Security.
What we know:
Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo is married to Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez, who is stationed at Fort Bliss in Texas. In July, Villafranca-Trejo was detained at a local Walmart and held in a detention facility until she was "removed from the United States" on Monday, according to a Homeland Security official.
Tucios Juarez joined the U.S. military in 2022 and became an American citizen two years later. He married his wife, who has no known criminal record, and left Honduras in 2016 amid violence in the country.
The backstory:
According to her husband, the couple did not realize she had been ordered deported until they began the process of applying for her green card after their marriage. DHS said an immigration judge had issued her a final order of removal, but her husband maintains that she never received the notice.
What they're saying:
The soldier spoke to the Associated Press about his struggles to take care of his daughter without having his wife around. "I don’t know if I will be able to continue with this," Turcios Juarez told the Associated Press. "I have to make a plan to make sure I can still fulfill my military responsibilities — but also take care of my family."
Military families detained
The backstory:
For years, parents and spouses of service members have been protected from deportation, under a "significant mitigating factor" clause. However, in recent months many of those family members or close relatives have been detained.
The other side:
Last year, the Trump administration issued a memo doing away with the exemption, which has led to the detainment of dozens of family members of service members and veterans, many who have served throughout the course of the war in Iran.
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Recently, the father of a sailor who was serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln was arrested by immigration officers in Florida. His wife told the AP that he has lived in the United States for 19 years and has a permit to work. His son wrote in a Facebook post that he was still aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln when he got word of his father’s arrest.
The Source: This story was written with information provided by The Associated Press and Reuters. This story was reported from Orlando.