Wife of Active-Duty U.S. Army Service Member Awaits Deportation in Texas Despite Having Documentation

A Houston family is soon to be separated as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) prepares to deport a mother and wife of an army sergeant who was in the process of adjusting her immigration status.

Shirly Guardado, 27, from Honduras was unexpectedly arrested by ICE in early-March at her place of work.

"She was running because she was going to work. She took a shower, kissed me, and left," her husband, Asyaac Correa, an active-duty U.S. Army service member, recalled in an interview with Noticias Telemundo. Today, he says he's living his worst nightmare: "I always imagined a family, and this administration came and ruined everything."

Guardado had entered the U.S. unlawfully in 2014 at the age of 16 and was issued an expedited removal order, but was later released under supervision. Since then she constantly reported to immigration authorities, graduated high school and married Correa, Fox 26 Houston notes.

In 2023, U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) approved Correa's parole request for his wife under a program called Military Parole in Place (PIP), which allows certain undocumented family members of U.S. service members, veterans and reservists to remain in the U.S. without fear of deportation. As of this year, the couple was still in the process of adjusting her status, making her arrest unusual.

"It was a blow I didn't expect, a pain too great for me," Guardado told a reporter from her cell. "They're separating us as a family."

The family's lawyer, Martin Reza, says he has exhausted every legal option to secure Guardado's release, none of which have been successful. In an interview with Noticias Telemundo, he attributed her arrest to "arbitrary" quotas of arrest set by the Trump administration to ICE.

"They're trying to meet certain numbers. Stephen Miller wants everyone deported, and the easiest to deport are those who already have outstanding warrants," Reza notes. In a recent meeting cited by several media outlets, Deputy Chief of Staff Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem instructed ICE to make at least 3,000 arrests daily.

According to the family, Guardado is not the only case where the spouse of a service member adjusting their immigration status has been detained. In fact, Noticias Telemundo says it has been an increasing trend during President Donald Trump's first 100 days.

On April 24, ICE detained the wife of an active Coast Guardsman at the Key West Naval Air Station. She was in the government housing complex when she was detained by Homeland Security Investigations agents.

In a separate instance, another service member from Texas, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed to Noticias Telemundo that his wife had also been arrested inside a military base. "I was left alone with our children," he said.