ICE Arrests Army Staff Sergeant’s Wife at Military Base Days After Wedding

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained Annie Ramos, the 22-year-old wife of a U.S. Army staff sergeant, at a military base in Louisiana on April 2, 2026. The arrest took place at Fort Polk, where Ramos and her husband, 23-year-old Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank, had gone to register her as a military spouse.

According to Jen Rickling, the mother of Staff Sergeant Blank, the couple was accompanied by relatives on April 2 to assist Ramos in registering for a military ID and accessing the benefits available to her as a spouse. While at the facility, ICE agents entered and took Ramos into custody. The detention occurred just days after the couple’s wedding.

Staff Sergeant Blank stated that the couple had intended to use the registration process to begin the legal path toward a green card for his wife.

I never imagined that trying to do the right thing — registering my wife so she could receive her military ID, access the benefits she is entitled to as my spouse, and begin the process toward her green card — would lead to her being taken away from me. Instead of preparing for our future together, I am now fighting for her freedom.

Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank

Legal Background and Removal Order

Attorney Jessie Schreier, who represents the family, explained that Ramos is being held to enforce a removal order that was issued in 2005. Ramos, who was born in Honduras, had arrived in the United States as a toddler. The deportation order was issued in absentia when Ramos was 20 months old after her family missed a scheduled immigration court hearing.

Annie Ramos is currently detained for enforcement of a removal order issued in 2005, when she was just 20 months old. At any moment, that order may be executed, resulting in her deportation to a country she has never known. Annie’s deportation would tragically separate her from her husband, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Matthew Blank, who is preparing for the possibility of his third overseas deployment

Attorney Jessie Schreier

Reporting from The New York Times indicates that Ramos attempted to secure legal protections through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2020. However, her application was never processed because the administration during Donald Trump’s first presidency had ceased accepting new applicants for the program.

Personal and Professional Context

Ramos is a biochemistry student and a Sunday school teacher with no criminal history. Prior to her detention, she and Blank had already retained legal counsel to navigate the process of obtaining legal permanent residency through their marriage, which would eventually allow her to apply for citizenship.

Staff Sergeant Blank has served in the U.S. Army for more than five years. His service record includes previous deployments to Europe and the Middle East. At the time of his wife’s arrest, Blank was in the process of preparing for a potential third overseas deployment.

The detention of Ramos has left Blank fighting for her release while managing his military obligations. Under current regulations, undocumented immigrants are generally eligible for Green Cards, and relatives of military service members may be eligible for additional forms of legal relief.