Army Staff Sergeant Fights Wife's Deportation After Detainment at Fort Polk

A U.S. Army staff sergeant’s wife remains in federal immigration detention after being arrested inside Fort Polk, Louisiana, last week, as military family advocates warn the case exposes growing concerns about the treatment of immigrant spouses of service members.

Staff Sgt. Matthew Blank, 23, said his wife, Annie Ramos, 22, was detained by federal immigration agents when the couple visited the base in anticipation of starting their life together after their March wedding. Blank stated he had brought Ramos to Fort Polk to begin the process of accessing military benefits and starting her application for legal residency. Ramos, a native of Honduras, has been living in the United States since entering with her family at under two years old in 2005.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Ramos has no legal status in the country after her family failed to appear at an immigration hearing in 2005, resulting in a final removal order from an immigration judge. DHS said in a statement, “This administration is not going to ignore the rule of law.”

The incident has attracted criticism from organizations representing military families, who argue that detaining and deporting service members’ spouses is harmful to morale and could pose challenges for military recruitment. Margaret Stock, a military immigration law expert, pointed to longstanding practices—ended in recent years—of granting leniency to military family members through measures like parole in place and deferred action. “It’s bad for morale, it disrupts the soldiers’ readiness,” Stock noted.

Legal experts attribute changes in policy to recent shifts in federal approach. DHS confirmed in April that service in the armed forces by an immediate family member is no longer automatically considered a significant factor in immigration enforcement decisions. The Pentagon declined to comment on the case, while more than 60 members of Congress have warned that arresting military families “betrays its promises to service members.”

Lydiah Owiti-Otienoh, head of the Foreign-Born Military Spouse Network, said she has seen a rise in similar cases, expressing concerns that deporting military spouses undermines national security by destabilizing families.

Ramos remains in an immigration detention center as her case moves forward. There has been no indication of her imminent release, and Staff Sgt. Blank said he will continue fighting for his wife’s return.