A Texas military family has found itself at the center of a growing debate over immigration enforcement after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained the wife of a retired Army and Texas National Guard veteran based on a deportation order issued more than two decades ago.
Arelys Barahona-Martinez, a 40-year-old Honduran national with no criminal record, was taken into custody by ICE during a scheduled check-in appointment in Dallas on June 11. The arrest separated her from her husband, retired Staff Sergeant Wilmer Trujillo, and their family in Princeton, Texas, while she was transferred to a detention facility roughly 300 miles away in Oklahoma.
The case has drawn attention because of both Barahona-Martinez's family circumstances and the legal dispute surrounding the removal order that federal authorities cite as the basis for her detention. The Department of Homeland Security maintains that she was provided due process and received a final order of removal in November 2005. Her attorney argues she never knew the hearing existed.
In a statement provided to media outlets, DHS said Barahona-Martinez entered the United States illegally in 2005 and was later released pending immigration proceedings. According to the agency, she "received full due process and was issued a final order of removal from an immigration judge on November 2, 2005."
Her attorney, Mark Shmueli, disputed that characterization in comments to CBS News. Shmueli said the deportation order was issued in absentia because Barahona-Martinez did not attend a hearing she was never informed about. He also emphasized that she has no criminal history.
Government records reviewed by CBS News indicate Barahona-Martinez first entered the United States in 2005. After giving birth to a son, she returned to Honduras in 2006 before reentering the United States in 2018. Since then, she had been living under supervised release while residing with her husband in North Texas.
For Trujillo, the detention has transformed a long-running immigration matter into a personal crisis. The veteran served approximately 20 years in uniform, including service in both the U.S. Army and the Texas National Guard. His military career included deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan before his retirement in 2021.
The couple married in 2020 and helped raise a blended family that includes Trujillo's daughters and Barahona-Martinez's son, who is a U.S. citizen and lives with neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder affecting nerve tissue.
Speaking to CBS News, Trujillo described the emotional impact of the arrest. "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 said. "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."
In a separate interview with the BBC, he expanded on those concerns. "I just don't understand, we have a family here, and they're breaking us up. They're breaking my family up. She's my backbone." He added a direct appeal to immigration authorities: "I'm not asking for favours. I know a lot of military members are going through this. I am just asking ICE to let my wife go."
Barahona-Martinez's detention is not an isolated case. Recent months have seen multiple military spouses taken into custody during immigration appointments or related proceedings.
Among the cases drawing attention:
- Deisy Rivera Ortega, wife of Army Sgt. 1st Class Jose Serrano, was detained during an immigration appointment in El Paso before being released after intervention from Senator Tammy Duckworth.
- Annie Ramos, the Honduran-born wife of Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Blank, was detained at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Her case also involved a removal order issued in absentia dating back to 2005.
The Trump administration has moved away from prior policies that provided broader immigration relief pathways for military families. DHS has repeatedly stated that "military service alone does not exempt aliens from the consequences of violating US immigration laws."
Immigration advocates argue the policy shift is creating anxiety among service members and veterans whose spouses remain entangled in unresolved immigration proceedings. Supporters of the administration's approach counter that immigration laws must be enforced consistently regardless of family connections or military affiliations.
As of June 13, ICE records showed Barahona-Martinez remained detained at the Diamondback Correctional Facility in Watonga, Oklahoma, while legal efforts to challenge her removal continue.
