A US soldier’s wife, Maisa Lopes Eliaser, was removed from a deportation flight to Brazil and released from federal immigration custody after spending over a month in detention. Eliaser, the wife of Army Staff Sgt. Alexis Jaramillo, was detained on July 8 while at an immigration appointment.
Background
Eliaser had been issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge on April 15, after overstaying the tourist visa she used to enter the US in 2019. Her husband, Jaramillo, a 43-year-old aviation operations specialist, took leave of his duties training soldiers in Fort Polk, Louisiana, to care for Eliaser’s 5-year-old son after she was detained.
According to Eliaser, she was placed on a deportation flight when US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on the plane received a phone call about her mid-flight. She was then asked by an ICE officer whether she wanted to continue on to Brazil or go back to the US. Eliaser stayed on the plane and returned to Louisiana.
Reaction
Danitza James, president of the organization Repatriate Our Patriots, which supports military families facing deportation and helped with Eliaser’s case, said, ‘This family’s reunion is proof of what’s possible when people set politics aside and do right by those who serve.’ Eliaser has another appointment scheduled for Monday in an effort to reopen her case and advance her green card application.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
