Army Sergeant's Wife Detained at Fort Polk, Released Under GPS Monitor as Deportation Proceeds

Annie Yaritza Ramos Alvarado, 22, the newly-wed wife of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Blank, 23, was detained by ICE agents on April 2 after the couple visited Fort Polk, Louisiana to register her as a military spouse and begin processing her military ID and green card application. ICE agents detained her within hours of arriving on base. Born in Honduras, Ramos entered the U.S. as a 22-month-old child in 2005; an immigration judge issued a final removal order in absentia when her family missed a hearing. Ramos has no criminal record, is a biochemistry student and Sunday school teacher, and had applied for DACA protection, though her application remained in limbo due to ongoing litigation. She was released on April 7 under an order of supervision with a GPS ankle monitor while removal proceedings continue. The case drew a Washington Post editorial calling the arrest 'shameful' and became a prominent symbol of enforcement actions against individuals with deep U.S. ties. DHS maintained Ramos 'has no legal status to be in this country.'