The wife of an active-duty US soldier has reportedly been deported to Honduras, becoming the latest family member of an American service member to be caught up in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo, the wife of Army Sgt Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez and mother of their six-year-old daughter, was deported on Monday, according to multiple reports.
Villafranca-Trejo, who is originally from Honduras, entered the United States in 2016 at the age of 18. Her husband said she left the country because of violent crime.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed her deportation and said she had “received due process”.
Her removal is reportedly at least the seventh case involving the deportation of a spouse or parent of an active-duty US military member since President Donald Trump returned to office.
The Associated Press has identified more than 50 cases in which immediate family members of US troops, sailors and airmen have been placed in federal immigration detention since protections for military families were rolled back.
Turcios Juarez previously told ABC News that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers detained his wife on July 11 outside a Walmart near Fort Bliss, Texas, where he is stationed. Their six-year-old daughter was reportedly present at the time.
Since his wife’s detention, the Army sergeant said he has struggled to balance his military responsibilities with caring for their daughter.
He told the AP that he has had to skip morning training to take his daughter to school and postpone a planned assignment at another military base.
“I don’t know if I will be able to continue with this,” Turcios Juarez told the AP of his service. “I have to make a plan to make sure I can still fulfill my military responsibilities — but also take care of my family.”
DHS said Villafranca-Trejo had received a final order of removal from an immigration judge in 2017 after she failed to appear at a hearing.
However, her husband said she never received notice of the hearing and was unaware that she had been ordered to leave the country until 2022, when the couple sought to apply for her green card after getting married.
Turcios Juarez, who is also originally from Honduras, became a US citizen in 2024 after joining the Army in 2022.
Villafranca-Trejo had also been waiting for about a year for a decision on her application for military parole-in-place, a programme that can allow certain immediate family members of US military personnel to remain in the country while pursuing lawful permanent residence.
“We were following the rules, we did everything we could on our side to fix this problem,” Turcios Juarez told the AP.
The case comes amid growing concern over the impact of the administration’s immigration enforcement measures on US military families.
Vanguard News
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