Maisa Lopes Eliaser, the wife of an active-duty Army staff sergeant, was released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody Wednesday after authorities returned her to the United States from a deportation flight bound for Brazil.
Staff Sergeant Alexis Jaramillo, 43, who has served in the Army for 11 years, told Newsweek earlier this month that Eliaser, a 32-year-old Brazilian national with no criminal record, was taken into custody on July 8 during a scheduled adjustment-of-status interview in Montgomery, Alabama.
Eliaser's case drew national attention amid broader scrutiny of immigration enforcement involving military families. Congressional Democrats have launched an investigation into deportations and detentions affecting service members' relatives, while some lawmakers and activists have publicly called for a review of the circumstances surrounding her case and similar ones.
“It felt like I was in a nightmare,” Eliaser told the Associated Press about the past month. “I could not believe what was happening until I returned to my house. Day by day, I’m trying to recover from this trauma,” she said.
Newsweek has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE for comment via email on Saturday.
What to Know
Eliaser told the AP that she was aboard a deportation flight to Brazil on Wednesday when ICE officers received a call midflight and asked whether she wanted to return to the United States or continue to Brazil. She chose to return and remained on the plane as it landed in Brazil to drop off other deportees before flying back to Louisiana.
Prior to the flight, she was held in immigration custody for over a month, after being detained. Jaramillo previously told Newsweek that he, his wife, their son and a translator attended the July immigration interview believing they were completing the process for Eliaser to obtain lawful permanent residency through their marriage. The couple married in 2024.
Instead, he said, immigration officials separated his wife from the family and informed him she would be detained.
“I feel really betrayed. I serve this country. And I deserve some security with my family,” Jaramillo told Newsweek in an August phone interview. “We were very excited because we knew we were doing the right thing and complying with the government. Then two people came and told me she was going to be detained.”
A DHS spokesperson previously told Newsweek while Eliaser was still detained: "Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws. Military service by an immediate relative does not automatically grant parole, lawful status, or immunity from immigration enforcement; if you are in the United States illegally, you are subject to enforcement."
The agency said Eliaser legally entered the U.S. from Brazil on June 18, 2019, with authorization to remain until December 17, 2019, but overstayed her visa. “She was issued a final order of removal by a Justice Department immigration judge on April 15, 2026. She will remain in ICE custody pending her removal," the DHS spokesperson said.
Her detention is one of a growing number of military family cases during the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. More than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty service members have been detained since the start of Trump's second term in January 2025, according to the AP, while at least six have been deported and one self-deported.
As part of their investigation, more than 60 lawmakers signed a letter addressed to the DHS, Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs, saying, “These efforts imperil military readiness, weaken service members’ morale, and betray America’s promises to the people who put their lives on the line for our nation."
Senator Mark Kelly, a former Navy officer and Arizona Democrat, reached out to ICE over Eliaser's detention, according to the AP. He told the outlet, “We need real solutions to fix our broken immigration system. Going after military families instead of real criminals doesn’t solve anything.”
Green Cards for Military Spouses, Children
U.S. immigration law has provided several special pathways to green cards for military families, reflecting a long-standing policy of keeping service members with their loved ones. In general, spouses and children of U.S. service members can qualify for green cards through the same family-based immigration system used by civilians, but with added flexibility.
A U.S. citizen service member can sponsor a spouse or unmarried child under 21 as an “immediate relative,” meaning there are typically no annual visa limits or long waiting periods. Programs such as marriage-based green cards or fiance visas (K‑1) allow couples to reunite in the U.S., marry, and then apply for permanent residency. These pathways are often expedited or handled with added urgency because of military deployments and relocations.
A key feature of military-related immigration is that family members who are already in the U.S. are usually able to apply for a green card without leaving the country, even in complicated cases including undocumented spouses or children.
What Happens Next
Authorities have not publicly explained why Eliaser was removed from the deportation flight and returned to the U.S. Her current immigration status remains unclear. ICE officers reportedly told Eliaser that she was “famous” because there were several videos made about her case.
Eliaser has an immigration appointment Monday, and her family hopes it will allow her case to be reopened and her application for a green card to move forward.
“We are really, really, really scared about it, but you know, we have to go,” Jaramillo told the AP.
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Steve Mollman and Anthony Murray.