U.S. Army Veteran Pleads for Wife's Release Amid Deportation Order

Retired U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Wilmer Trujillo is making a desperate plea for his wife's release, as she faces deportation to Honduras. Arelys Barahona-Martinez, 40, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on June 10 during a routine check-in appointment at an agency office in Dallas.

Trujillo, who served approximately 20 years in the Army and the Texas National Guard, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, expressed his heartbreak. "I don't want to hate on ICE. I don't want to hate on anybody, but yeah, it boggles me. It rips my heart apart," he told CBS News. "I love this country, and for this country to rip apart my family and take away my wife; she's my rock and she is my backbone to this family."

The couple married in 2020 and lives in Princeton, Texas, with Trujillo's daughters from a previous marriage and Barahona-Martinez's 20-year-old son, who is a U.S. citizen with a serious medical condition. Trujillo described them as a tight-knit family.

However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that Barahona-Martinez entered the U.S. illegally and had a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge on November 2, 2005. "The Trump administration is not going to ignore the rule of law. She will remain in ICE custody pending removal from the U.S.," a DHS statement read. Barahona-Martinez's immigration lawyer, Mark Shmueli, confirmed the 2005 deportation order but noted it was issued "in absentia" because she missed a hearing. He also stated his client has no criminal record.

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I don't want to hate on ICE. I don't want to hate on anybody, but yeah, it boggles me. It rips my heart apart. I love this country, and for this country to rip apart my family and take away my wife; she's my rock and she is my backbone to this family.