U.S. soldier fears newly-freed wife could still be deported by ICE at any time

Politics U.S. Army soldier worries wife "can be deported at any moment" even after her release from ICE custody By Camilo Montoya-Galvez Camilo Montoya-Galvez Immigration Correspondent Camilo Montoya-Galvez is the Immigration Correspondent at CBS News, where his reporting is featured across multiple programs and platforms, including national broadcast shows, CBS News 24/7, CBSNews.com and the organization's social media accounts. Read Full Bio Camilo Montoya-Galvez May 20, 2026 / 6:18 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google El Paso, Texas – An active-duty U.S. Army soldier and Afghanistan war veteran told CBS News he still worries about the possibility his newly-freed wife could be deported to a country where she has no ties, putting at risk his decades-long career in the American military.Sergeant 1st Class Jose Serrano, who was deployed to Afghanistan three times, said he's now seeking to delay his planned retirement, after 27 years in the military, to be able to pay the legal fees for his wife's immigration case and make preparations in the event she's deported."My wife can be deported at any moment," Serrano told CBS News during an exclusive interview alongside his wife, Deisy Rivera Ortega. Sgt. 1st Class Jose Serrano and his wife Deisy Rivera Ortega were reunited after she spent a month in ICE detention. CBS News Rivera Ortega, a native of El Salvador, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in mid-April during an immigration appointment in El Paso, an arrest the Department of Homeland Security said stemmed from a deportation order she received in 2019 and her illegal entry to the U.S. over a decade ago.After a month in detention, Rivera Ortega was released last week. The release came after CBS News reported on her arrest and brought it to the attention of White House border czar Tom Homan, who promised to look into it during an interview earlier this month. It also followed a personal call that Illinois Democratic Senator and combat ve...