Retired Staff Sergeant Wilmer Trujillo, a former member of the U.S. Army and Texas National Guard, is facing a personal crisis. After two decades of service, with deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq, and South Korea, Trujillo is now struggling to prevent the deportation of his wife. Speaking from his home in Princeton, Texas, Trujillo expressed his heartbreak over the potential separation from Arelys Barahona-Martinez, his wife of six years. ‘It breaks me because the country I worked my entire life for is ripping my family apart and taking away my wife,’ he said.

Barahona-Martinez, originally from Honduras, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a routine check-in in Dallas. She has consistently checked in with ICE over the years without issue until her unexpected arrest on June 10. Despite having no criminal record, she faces deportation due to previous illegal entries into the U.S. in 2005 and 2018. A deportation order was issued against her in 2005 by the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE.

Her arrest highlights a broader trend under the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation policy, which prioritizes action against those with existing deportation orders regardless of their criminal history. Barahona-Martinez reached out to Trujillo through a video call from the ICE detention center in Alvarado, Texas. ‘It is truly hell, to be judged as a criminal,’ she stated in Spanish, pleading to be reunited with her family.

Trujillo and Barahona-Martinez crossed paths in 2019, shortly after her return to the U.S. She left Honduras due to concern over her son Idben, born in the U.S., who faced recruitment by local gangs and needed medical care for neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder causing tumors.

Although Barahona-Martinez might qualify for permanent U.S. residency through her marriage, she requires an immigration judge’s approval to reopen her case. Additionally, she seeks relief through the parole-in-place program for military families, which could allow her to avoid deportation. However, it remains uncertain if ICE will permit her to pursue this process outside detention.

Trujillo’s bond with Barahona-Martinez and her son has deepened over the years. Idben, now 20 and living with Trujillo, described the void left by his detained mother. ‘She came to this country just to save my life,’ he shared, referencing his medical issues. The family’s ordeal underscores the human impact of immigration enforcement measures.