Key facts
- Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo, wife of U.S. Army Sergeant Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez, was deported to Honduras.
- She is at least the seventh spouse or parent of an active-duty U.S. military member deported under the Trump administration's immigration policies.
- Villafranca-Trejo was detained on July 11 and had an outstanding removal order from 2017.
- Her husband, Sgt. Turcios Juarez, is a U.S. citizen and active-duty soldier struggling to care for their daughter.
- The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the deportation, stating due process was followed.
Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo, the wife of an active-duty U.S. Army sergeant, was deported to Honduras on Monday, marking at least the seventh instance of a spouse or parent of a U.S. service member being deported under the Trump administration's immigration policies. Villafranca-Trejo was detained on July 11 near Fort Bliss, Texas, where her husband, Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez, is stationed.
Sergeant Turcios Juarez, who became a U.S. citizen in 2024, has expressed difficulty managing his military duties and caring for their 6-year-old daughter since his wife's detention. Villafranca-Trejo entered the U.S. in 2016 and had an outstanding removal order from 2017, which her husband stated she was unaware of due to not receiving notice for a required hearing. Her attempts to reopen her case and a pending application for military parole-in-place were unsuccessful.
According to former ICE deputy chief counsel Dan Gividen, such deportations were uncommon before the Trump administration's rollback of protections for military families. U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar has initiated a congressional inquiry into Villafranca-Trejo's case. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the deportation, asserting that Villafranca-Trejo received due process.