SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The wife of a U.S. Army sergeant was being held Tuesday at an immigration detention facility in El Paso, Texas, amid signs that the Trump administration is dialing back leniency toward immigrant family members of military personnel and veterans. Jose Serrano, an active-duty soldier who served three tours in Afghanistan, reported that immigration agents arrested his wife, Deisy Rivera Ortega, on April 14 while they were attending an appointment to advance her permanent residency. He stated, “A person opened the door, escorted us through the hallway, and at the end of the hallway, my wife got arrested. Arrested without any order, any warrant ... They took away my wife. They don’t tell me anything.” Since her arrest, Rivera Ortega has challenged her detention in U.S. District Court, seeking to block her deportation to Mexico, where she has no ties, and where visits by active-duty U.S. troops are restricted. Attorney Matthew James Kozik noted that Rivera Ortega held a valid work permit and had previously been granted a withholding of removal to El Salvador. The Department of Homeland Security informed that Rivera Ortega entered the U.S. illegally in 2016 and had a final order of removal issued in December 2019. The agency stated that work authorization does not confer legal status and emphasized that Rivera Ortega remains in ICE custody pending removal. Rivera Ortega was detained at the El Paso Service Processing Center, and her husband was able to visit her, albeit briefly, communicating through a plastic barrier. She had applied for 'parole in place,' a policy that allowed a potentially expedited pathway to residency for military spouses. However, last April, the Department of Homeland Security revoked a policy that recognized military service of an immediate family member as a significant factor in immigration enforcement decisions. The new guideline indicates that military service does not exempt individuals from the consequences of violating immigration laws.