Reporters and members of the public are invited to a virtual press conference tomorrow, Friday, August 14, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern with Army Staff Sergeant Alexis Jaramillo and his wife, Maisa Lopes Eliaser, who was released from immigration detention after five weeks. Danitza James of Repatriate Our Patriots and Ashley DeAzevedo of American Families United will join them to talk about how this case is one of many they are seeing among their members.
Maisa’s release was announced today in a press release from Repatriate Our Patriots and American Families United. She was arrested in early July at a routine immigration appointment, in front of Alexis and their five-year-old son, Noah, who is a U.S. citizen. Alexis, an aviation specialist stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana, has served in the Army for eleven years.
After Maisa was detained, Repatriate Our Patriots, an organization that supports active-duty service members, veterans, and the families affected by the immigration system, worked together with American Families United to raise awareness about the case and to advocate for her release so that she could continue going through the immigration process with her husband at home.
I spoke with Danitza James about this case last Friday, and she explained that what happened to Alexis and Maisa follows a pattern she has been tracking for years. Reporting by the Associated Press confirms what Danitza has seen across both Republican and Democratic administrations, which is that many military families get swept up in our complex and broken immigration system. Many service members who enlist with the promise of citizenship are never able to obtain it, and some veterans are deported after their service to this country.
American Families United, an organization that supports U.S. citizens married to immigrant spouses at risk of removal, has focused on the damaging consequences for families, often unintended, when immigration law does not provide a reasonable path to citizenship for their spouse.
The administration’s decision to release Maisa is the right one, and I commend everyone who played a role in that decision for doing what is right. There are many more cases that deserve the same outcome. I would encourage citizens and politicians across the political spectrum to do what is right for active-duty service members, for veterans, and for the spouses of U.S. citizens.
Tomorrow we will hear directly from Alexis and Maisa about what this family has been through, and from Danitza and Ashley about how their case fits into the larger pattern that both organizations are seeing across the country. You can register for the press conference below.
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Find a copy of the official press release below.
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