Staff Sergeant Wilmer Trujillo dedicated two decades of his life to serving the United States. A retired combat veteran, his extensive military career includes four years of active duty and 16 years in the Texas Army National Guard. His service included deployments to Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Despite his profound sacrifices for his country, Trujillo is now enduring a heartbreaking struggle to keep his family intact on American soil.
Since June 10th, Trujillo’s wife, Arelys Virginia Barahona, has been held in immigration detention. The ongoing separation has plunged the family into severe emotional distress. While she tries to remain strong, Trujillo senses that his wife is deeply fearful for her life in detention. The sudden absence of their mother has severely impacted their children, who struggle daily with anxiety, find it difficult to eat, and can no longer enjoy their everyday routines.
Princeton woman faces deportation under 20-year-old order | Princeton Herald
The family’s ordeal is compounded by the fact that they actively complied with the immigration system. Trujillo states that they acted in good faith at every step, making every effort to follow the rules. They attended all required appointments, check-ins, and reporting requirements asked of them. Desperate for a resolution, Trujillo is publicly pleading with ICE to exercise fairness and compassion by considering the humanitarian factors of their case. He is requesting his wife’s immediate release so she can return home, or at the very least, an expedited review of her case by an immigration judge without further delays.
Despite his twenty years of military service and his family’s unwavering adherence to the law, Trujillo has had to watch his family be torn apart.
ICE detains wife of US veteran in latest detention of military spouse
The lie of the “right way” is something that should be noted. People from across the world are promised entry through those golden gates, yet those gates are actually a snare entrapping those who do the due diligence of the right way, but it is never enough. The toll, trauma, and humiliation of being told you will be welcomed if you do things the right way cannot be ignored.
Here are the news citations detailing Staff Sergeant Wilmer Trujillo’s story and his family’s ongoing battle with ICE, CSP:
CBS News: “It rips my heart apart”: U.S. military veteran calls on ICE to release wife
CBS News: “I’m begging my own country to let my wife go”: Veteran fights to prevent wife’s deportation
Princeton Herald: Princeton woman faces deportation under 20-year-old order
CBS News 24/7 (YouTube): Veteran calls on ICE to release his wife: “My heart broke”
CBS News 24/7 (YouTube): Veteran’s emotional plea as ICE prepares to deport wife
