Ramos, the Honduran-born wife of a U.S. Army staff sergeant preparing to deploy, was released Tuesday from federal immigration detention after nearly a week in custody following her arrest at a Louisiana military base, according to the woman and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
DHS told The Associated Press that Ramos was released with a GPS monitor while she undergoes further removal proceedings, and the agency said she will receive full due process. The release followed public scrutiny of how immigration enforcement applied to military families, a spotlight that grew after Ramos’ detention prompted backlash from critics of the Trump administration’s mass-deportation campaign.
Ramos’ mother-in-law, Jen Rickling, confirmed the release to AP, and the New York Times first reported that Ramos had been freed. A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, said Kelly called DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin about Ramos’ detention, and the AP reported that Blank has family in Arizona.
Ramos and her husband said she had been trying to gain legal status, including by applying for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals in 2020. They said her DACA application remained stalled amid legal battles over the program, while her detention followed a separate long-ago removal order.
DHS said Ramos had been ordered removed by a federal immigration judge in 2005 after her family failed to appear for a hearing. Ramos’ detention occurred when federal immigration agents took her into custody while she was attempting to register at the base to receive military benefits and to pursue a green card, according to AP reporting.
In a statement to AP after her release, Ramos said, “All I have ever wanted is to live with dignity in the country I have called home since I was a baby,” adding that she wants to finish her degree, continue her education, and serve her community. She also said she planned to continue her focus on biochemistry and her married life with Blank, writing that, “As Matthew continues preparing for his long career in the military, my focus now is on securing my status, continuing my studies, and building our life together.”
Kelly said in a statement that he was “happy Annie is back with her husband and family where she belongs.” He said the family “never should have gone through this painful process,” and he criticized the broader administration’s approach as affecting “far too many families like theirs.”
The AP report said the Trump administration had scrapped policies that had provided leniency for family members of military personnel and veterans, even as the military has promoted protections for service members’ relatives as part of recruiting.