An attorney representing the wife of an active-duty U.S. Army sergeant said she was told Wednesday she would be released from immigration detention after more than a week in custody — but instead she’s facing deportation to Mexico.
Deisy Fidelina Rivera Ortega was taken into custody April 14 in El Paso while attending a routine immigration interview related to a “Parole in Place” application — a program that can allow undocumented family members of U.S. military personnel to remain in the country legally.
On Wednesday afternoon, her legal team said they received information that Rivera Ortega would be released.
The wife of an active-duty U.S. Army sergeant with 27 years of service is facing potential deportation to a third country after being detained during a routine immigration interview last week.
Matthew Kozik
“Deisy was elated and informed us that she had been directed by immigration officials to gather her belongings, as she was to be released today,” Matthew Kozik told ABC News.
But after contacting officials with the Department of Homeland Security to verify details, Kozik said he was told Rivera Ortega would not be released and would instead be deported to Mexico.
“DHS/ICE denied that she was being released back into the United States, but that Ms. Rivera-Ortega was informed that she would be released, but that her release was deported to Mexico,” Kozik added.
In response to a request for comment, DHS did not address the attorney’s allegations.
Instead the agency released a statement reading: “On April 14, ICE arrested Deisy Fidelina Rivera-Ortega, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador. She was previously convicted for illegal entry—a federal offense. Rivera-Ortega entered the U.S. in 2016 near Rio Grande Valley, Texas, and was released on bond. She received full due process, and an immigration judge issued her a final order of removal on December 12, 2019. Work authorization does not confer any legal status to be in the country. Rivera-Ortega remains in ICE custody pending removal.”
Rivera Ortega — who currently works for IHG Army Hotels at Fort Bliss — has a valid work permit through 2030 and was previously granted withholding of removal from her home country, El Salvador, according to documents reviewed by ABC News.
Kozik told ABC News his client is entitled to a credible fear interview, a screening conducted by a federal officer for individuals who express fear of deportation to certain countries. He also filed a habeas petition last week asking a judge to order Rivera Ortega’s release.
“We are preparing a writ of mandamus to file with the 5th Circuit, requiring the court to take action,” he said.
Rivera Ortega is married to Sgt. 1st Class Jose Serrano, a U.S. Army sergeant stationed at Fort Bliss, who has been deployed to Afghanistan three times. He told ABC News earlier this week that he and his wife have been “doing everything by the book.”
“She goes to work or to church,” Serrano said. “That’s the life of my wife, Daisy.”
Serrano told ABC News he has been seeing a doctor for post-traumatic stress disorder and had been stable until his wife was detained last week.
“I can’t sleep even with the medication, I can’t even read,” he told ABC News. “It’s super painful and stressful to not be able to do anything.”
