When ICE Came for My Daughter-in-Law

By Jen Rickling

It’s been a month, and I am still processing what happened to my son, Matthew, and my daughter-in-law, Annie. You may remember reading about their story.

In early April, our family was filled with joy from Matthew and Annie’s late-March wedding. Matthew, 23, joined the U.S. Army in 2021, and is a staff sergeant. My husband and I accompanied the newlyweds to Matthew’s post in Louisiana. We planned to help them start their life together and help my son prepare for training and deployment.

Instead, when we arrived at Matthew’s base, Annie, 22, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and taken away in handcuffs. After nearly a week in detention—and a public outcry—she was freed. Yet even now, Annie and Matthew’s future together is uncertain. Annie can’t travel outside Louisiana and has to wear an ankle monitor— for how long isn’t clear.

Annie is everything you would hope for in a daughter-in-law. She’s a Sunday-school teacher and a biochemistry major nearly finished with her college degree. She’s also a Dreamer who was brought to this country from Honduras when she was 20 months old. When Matthew and Annie found each other, I saw something that every mother wants for her child. That is why I didn’t hesitate in giving Matthew his grandmother’s wedding ring last Christmas when he told me he wanted to ask Annie to marry him.

In Southern Arizona, where I live, immigration and border security are always in the news. Yet it wasn’t until Annie and Matthew’s marriage that those issues directly affected our lives. I saw how complicated and contradictory they could be. No, I don’t believe every person who crosses the border illegally or over--stays a visa should be allowed to remain in this country. But I do believe there has to be a better way for Annie and other Dreamers.

Annie had a deportation order issued when she was a toddler. That was in 2005, when her parents didn’t show up for an immigration court hearing in Houston. Since that time, she has studied hard, demonstrated her character and fallen in love with a man serving his country. As a teenager, she applied to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, paid her fee and was fingerprinted for a background check.

Her application, made in 2020, is still pending, stalled by sporadic freezes on new DACA requests. Annie has had no path to obtain a green card or otherwise become legal. Even now, despite her marriage to Matthew, the prospects aren’t certain. A deportation order from when she was a baby shouldn’t override the life she has built.

I am a proud conservative who supports President Trump’s efforts to secure the border. I also agree with his pledge to find a way for Dreamers to stay in this nation and

his comments following his re-election: “We have to do something about the Dreamers, because these are people that have been brought here at a very young age. . . . Some of them are no longer young people, and in many cases they’ve become successful. They have great jobs . . . and we’re going to have to do something with them.” I ask Mr. Trump to ensure that his administration is following through on his wishes for Dreamers like Annie.

There aren’t any bad guys in this story, only people trying to navigate an immigration system that is at odds with common sense and American values. Annie told me that the ICE agents who arrested her and took her to the detention facility were incredibly kind. The Army couldn’t have been more supportive of Matthew. Annie’s attorneys and all those who spoke out on her behalf went above and beyond in their dedication to her case.

While the immigration system is complicated, the questions I am wrestling with are not. Is it better for the nation if Annie and other Dreamers with pristine records are targets for detention? Or should they have a way to become fully participating Americans, especially after marrying a U.S. citizen?

Annie isn’t the first military spouse to be detained. I don’t know the details of each case, but I do know that we are a nation at war asking enormous sacrifices of our service members. The government should clear a high bar before targeting their families.

Matthew gives everything he has to this country. Watching him grow into a man who wears the uniform with honor and integrity has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. I am proud of Annie and the courage, grace and love she has demonstrated during this terrifying chapter of her life.

I believe in this country. I believe in our president. And I believe we can do better than this.

Ms. Rickling is a wife and mother in Arizona.