Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juárez was driving home from Walmart with his family on July 11 when unmarked vehicles boxed in their Dodge Durango near Fort Bliss, Texas. Masked immigration agents pounded on the windows as his six year old daughter began crying from her car seat.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers ordered the windows lowered and detained Turcios’s wife, Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo, over a missed immigration court appearance. The couple’s daughter watched as agents placed her mother in handcuffs.

“It took me a minute to realize what was going on, my heart just dropped,” Turcios told Military Times. “It was very hard looking at my daughter crying because of what was going on and not being able to do something and keep my family together.”

Turcios said he had noticed a vehicle following the family from their military housing subdivision before the stop. “All I was trying to do was stay calm because my daughter was watching everything that was going on and that was already a lot for her,” he said.

Here's What They're Not Telling You About Your Retirement

“She’s only six, and she was going through a lot. She’s still going through a lot right now.”

Turcios and Villafranca Trejo have been legally married since August 2022, according to their Louisiana marriage certificate. She and the couple’s children are listed as his dependents in the Army personnel system, and the family had been preparing to move to an Oklahoma installation for his next assignment.

Instead of reporting normally to his new unit, Turcios has been visiting his wife at Camp East Montana, an immigration detention facility located on Fort Bliss. A Human Rights Watch report alleged excessive force, medical neglect, restricted legal access and “conditions of confinement that amounted to enforced disappearance” at the facility.

Turcios said his wife developed an infection and feared the underwear provided to her was not clean. He said she also wore the same clothing for about one week, while the report described laundry being returned dirty and irregularly.

This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year

The family has received little information about what comes next. “They don’t give us any updates on her case. They’re completely silent from their part, like nobody at all,” Turcios said.

“They don’t communicate with my lawyer. They don’t communicate with my wife. They don’t communicate with me. We don’t know what’s going on.”

Authorities attempted to deport Villafranca Trejo after one of Turcios’s visits, waking her during the night and taking her to an airport. Turcios said she suffered a panic attack while explaining that an appeal was pending and that her husband serves in the Army.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed that on Aug. 17, Villafranca Trejo “was removed from her scheduled deportation flight after a legal impediment developed.” Officials called her “an illegal alien from Honduras” who entered unlawfully in 2016 and was released under the Obama administration, adding, “Being in detention is a choice.”

Turcios said his wife came to America seeking “a better life” and believed her immigration case had been closed following earlier appointments. When the couple applied to adjust her status in 2024, they discovered that a missed hearing had produced a 2017 removal order.

Attorney Efrain Diaz Carrasquillo said the detention is technically lawful while the appeal proceeds, although ICE was not required to detain her. “The fact that ICE has, or is entitled to detain her doesn’t mean they have to,” he said, noting that she has no criminal record.

“She married an American citizen, and they are trying to adjust her status in USCIS,” Diaz Carrasquillo said. “She’s doing everything possible to adjust her status and be legal in the United States,” he added, though the process could take years.

Turcios deployed to the Middle East in 2023 and said his wife has supported his Army career while serving as the foundation of his military family care plan. Her detention has effectively made him a single parent responsible for school transportation, household duties and leading soldiers.

A fellow active duty soldier described Turcios as reliable and respected. “You can see the results of his leadership in his soldiers,” the soldier said. “They’re consistently on time, prepared, know what they’re supposed to be doing, and are ready to execute whatever mission or task is put in front of them.”

Turcios said the ordeal has not diminished his commitment to the nation. “I love this country, and I’m proud of serving in the Army,” he said, adding that his wife remains fully supportive of his service.

An Associated Press investigation found that more than 50 parents and spouses of active duty troops had been detained under the Trump administration, with at least six deported. More than 60 lawmakers subsequently requested an investigation into coordination between immigration authorities and the War Department.

Military relatives are not automatically entitled to citizenship or permanent residency, although programs such as Military Parole in Place have historically offered temporary protection. The War Department did not explain whether it tracks detained military relatives or studies the readiness consequences.

Asked what help soldiers can receive, a Pentagon official said, “We would refer you to the military service departments, as each service provides varying but limited legal assistance in line with federal law.” Turcios said he is personally paying his family’s legal bills.

For now, husband and wife can speak only through a window during scheduled visits, without touching. Their daughter started school without her mother and repeatedly asks, “When is my mom coming back home?”

“I don’t have an answer to that,” Turcios said. “It’s just heartbreaking for me, just looking at her and not being able to give her an answer when her mom is coming back to our family.”

Warning: Account balances and purchasing power no longer tell the same story. Know in 2 minutes if your retirement is working for you.