US Army Staff Sergeant Pleads 'Don't Play With Me' After ICE Detains His Wife and Calls Her 'Famous'

A US Army Staff Sergeant has issued a stark warning to immigration officials after his wife was pulled from a deportation flight mid-journey and told by ICE agents she had become 'famous.'

Alexis Jaramillo, an aviation operations specialist with more than a decade of service, said he told the person who scheduled his wife's latest immigration appointment, 'Hey sir, don't play with me, I've been through a lot.'

The news came after Maisa Lopes Eliaser, 32, was detained in early July at what the couple believed was a routine immigration appointment in Montgomery, Alabama. She had entered the US on a tourist visa in 2019 and overstayed, leading to a final removal order issued by an immigration judge on 15 April, according to Homeland Security.

The couple married in 2024 and had been pursuing a green card application for Eliaser, a Brazilian national and mother of a five-year-old US citizen son, Noah.

Mid-Flight Reversal and 'Famous' Remark

Eliaser was placed on a deportation flight to Brazil on Wednesday, along with several other detainees. Mid-flight, ICE officers on the plane received a phone call about her case, she told the Associated Press.

An agent then asked whether she wanted to continue to Brazil or return to the US. 'Who made the call? We don't know,' Jaramillo said. 'But someone made the phone call, and then she came back.'

While other detainees were led off the plane upon arrival in Brazil, Eliaser remained on board and was flown back to Louisiana. On her return, agents told her that thanks to videos and news reports about her case, she was 'famous.'

The remark, delivered as she was being returned after nearly five weeks in federal immigration custody, has struck many as a wild twist in a case that has drawn attention from advocacy groups and lawmakers.

Eliaser said she is still struggling to sleep and is afraid she will be sent back to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, where she said she was treated like 'an animal.' 'It felt like I was in a nightmare,' she said. 'I could not believe what was happening until I returned to my house.'

'Don't Play With Me': A Soldier's Warning

Jaramillo, 43, was forced to take leave from his duties training soldiers at Fort Polk, Louisiana, to care for his stepson after Eliaser's detention last month. He has been told there will not be any further issues with his wife's case, but the couple remain anxious ahead of a Monday appointment to reopen her case and advance her green card application.

'We are really, really, really scared about it, but you know, we have to go,' Jaramillo said. His plea 'don't play with me' captures the exhaustion and frustration of a family that has spent weeks navigating a system that, in their view, has offered little clarity or compassion. And yes, that's the actual quote from the soldier himself, not some editorial flourish.

The Trump administration has faced mounting scrutiny over its treatment of immigrant family members of US military personnel. An Associated Press investigation found at least 50 spouses or parents of active-duty service members have been detained after protections for military families were rolled back during President Donald Trump's second term.

Congressional Democrats have launched an investigation into deportations of military personnel and their families, citing the AP's findings.

Eliaser's case is not isolated. ICE agents have raided a military base to arrest a newlywed soldier's wife and staked out Marine Corps graduations to detain immigrants, according to reporting. While Eliaser was fortunate enough to be allowed to return to the US, others have not been so lucky.

Nothing is confirmed yet regarding the outcome of Monday's appointment, so everything should be taken with a grain of salt. It cannot be independently verify these claims about the mid-flight call or the identity of the person who intervened, so take everything lightly.