Annie Ramos, 22, was released from ICE custody after five days but still faces removal proceedings after being detained at Fort Polk on April 2. Ramos has a 2005 final order of removal and a stalled DACA application. She was released under an order of supervision and fitted with a GPS ankle monitor. Advocates say enforcement of current policy harms military families and call for clearer DHS guidance.
Undocumented Army Spouse Released From ICE Custody, Still Faces Deportation After Fort Polk Detention
Active Military Spouse Faces Removal Proceedings
Annie Ramos, the 22-year-old undocumented wife of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Blank, was released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after five days but remains subject to formal removal proceedings following her detention at Fort Polk, Louisiana, on April 2.
Blank, 23, a five-year Army enlistee, and Ramos married in March. The couple went to Fort Polk to begin the routine process of obtaining a military ID, spouse benefits and, ultimately, a green card for Ramos when immigration authorities detained her at the gate, Blank told The New York Times.
Ramos was born in Honduras and brought to the United States before she was two years old. She received a final order of removal in 2005 after family members failed to appear for immigration court hearings. Ramos applied for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in 2020, but she told the Associated Press that her application stalled amid legal challenges to the program.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Ramos was arrested after attempting to enter a military installation without lawful immigration status while a final order of removal remained in effect. In a statement to The Times, DHS said:
"This administration is not going to ignore the rule of law."
After five days in ICE custody, Ramos — a college biochemistry student with no criminal record — was released under an order of supervision and fitted with a GPS ankle monitor, DHS told CBS News. Despite her release, formal removal proceedings are ongoing.
This episode is part of a broader pattern that has alarmed advocates and military-family experts. Last year, Paola Clouatre, the wife of a disabled veteran, was detained after a green-card interview in New Orleans and spent two months in custody before being released with an ankle monitor with the help of U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R–La.).
Military immigration law expert Margaret Stock told the Associated Press that policies allowing detention of noncitizen military spouses harm morale and discourage cooperation with government institutions. As Stock put it:
"It doesn't make any sense — they're going to get arrested for following the law?"Advocates are calling on DHS to provide clearer guidance and to consider policy changes that protect military families and preserve trust in the immigration and defense systems.
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