Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday released the wife of an active-duty U.S. Army soldier and Afghanistan war veteran after a monthlong detention, her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Jose Serrano, told CBS News.
Serrano's wife, El Salvador native Deisy Rivera Ortega, was detained by ICE on April 14 during an immigration appointment in El Paso, Texas. Serrano, who has served in the Army for 27 years, including three deployments to Afghanistan, first revealed to CBS News last month that his wife had been arrested by ICE after living in the U.S. for roughly a decade.
At the time, the Department of Homeland Security said ICE arrested Rivera Ortega because of a deportation order dating back to 2019. DHS also said she was convicted of entering the U.S. illegally, a federal misdemeanor.
In a heated exchange during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, FBI Director Kash Patel denied allegations of frequent drinking when asked by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) about a recent report by The Atlantic magazine which included allegations that Patel often drinks to excess. "It's a total farce," the FBI director said. Patel filed a defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic, saying the report included "false and obviously fabricated" claims.
Sen. Van Hollen met with and helped to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S. from El Salvador after he was deported last year. Claims made by Patel possibly referring to Garcia as a "gang banger rapist" are factually incorrect. Garcia faces human smuggling charges in Tennessee, and had a restraining order filed against him by his wife.