Annie Ramos, a Honduran immigrant who came to the U.S. as a toddler, was released from federal custody on Tuesday after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at Fort Polk military base in Louisiana days after her marriage to U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank.
Key Takeaways
Annie Ramos, the Honduran immigrant wife of U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank, was released from federal custody on Tuesday after being detained by ICE agents at Fort Polk military base in Louisiana days after her marriage to Blank. The couple had traveled to the base to enroll Ramos in military spouse benefits and begin the process for her green card application.
Ramos, 22, had been detained on April 2 while attempting to enroll in military spouse benefits with her husband who is preparing for deployment training. According to multiple reports, Ramos was issued a final order of removal in 2005 after her family missed an immigration hearing when she was about two years old.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cited the final order of removal as the reason for Ramos's detention, stating that 'this administration is not going to ignore the rule of law.' However, Ramos had applied for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in 2020, but her application was not processed due to legal fights to end the Obama-era program.
Ramos's detention has drawn criticism from military family advocates and legal experts who say it contradicts past practices of leniency toward families of service members. According to CBS News, DHS eliminated a policy in April 2023 that considered military service of an immediate family member as a significant mitigating factor in deciding whether to pursue immigration enforcement.
Blank and Ramos had hired a lawyer to begin the process for her citizenship before their wedding. Blank told The New York Times that he was trying to halt his wife's deportation order, stating 'I want my wife home.' As reported by multiple outlets, Ramos is a biochemistry student with no criminal history who also teaches Sunday school.
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