For Immediate Release: April 6, 2026
Contact: Michael Earls at [email protected]
“Enough is Enough” – Gaby Pacheco Reacts to Detention of Military Spouse and TheDream.US Scholar Annie Ramos
Gaby Pacheco: “Detaining a 22-year-old biochemistry student who has lived here for two decades and is married to a U.S. Army staff sergeant preparing for deployment doesn’t make us safer – it weakens a military family, undermines our basic values, and exposes how far we’ve fallen as a nation.” Read Miriam Jordan in New York Times: “ICE Agents Detain Newlywed Spouse of Solider Training to Deploy”
Washington, DC – An important New York Times article by Miriam Jordan,“ICE Agents Detain Newlywed Spouse of Solider Training to Deploy,” highlights the recent detention of Annie Ramos, a 22-year old college student and TheDream.US Scholar who is married to a U.S. Army staff sergeant who is preparing for deployment. As the article notes:
“A U.S. Army staff sergeant and his wife arrived at his base in Louisiana last week, expecting to begin their life together as newlyweds … Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entered the base and detained his wife, an undocumented Honduran immigrant who was brought to the U.S. as a toddler … The detention came just days after Annie Ramos, 22, a college student with no criminal record, and Matthew Blank, 23, celebrated their marriage with family and friends. Sergeant Blank, who enlisted more than five years ago, is assigned to a brigade at Fort Polk, La. that is set to begin training at the end of the month for deployment.
‘Our plan was to drive over, bring her to the office to get her military ID and activate her military spouse benefits,’ such as health and life insurance, he said. ‘She was going to move in after the Easter weekend. Instead, she got ripped away from me.’”
The following is a statement from Gaby Pacheco, President & CEO of TheDream.US on the detention of TheDream.US Scholar Annie Ramos and larger moment:
“Detaining a 22-year-old biochemistry student who has lived here for two decades and is married to a U.S. Army staff sergeant preparing for deployment doesn’t make us safer – it weakens a military family, undermines our basic values, and exposes how far we’ve fallen as a nation. Annie Ramos should be released from detention and returned to her family. And our country and our President should use this moment as a wake-up call.
Every day at TheDream.US, I’m either sending urgent warnings to our Scholars not to travel or on the phone with a devastated American family whose loved one is now in immigration detention and facing possible deportation from the country they consider home. Enough is enough.
President Trump has noted he wants ‘to do something about Dreamers.’ But if he believes in Dreamers’ futures in America, his administration is not following his wishes. Detaining Annie and targeting other Dreamers with and without DACA destroys families, undermines our economy, and weakens the nation.
Is this really the America we want to to build? One that detains military spouses and other Dreamers and denies them opportunities to live safely and participate fully in the nation they have grown up in? I instead stand with the vast majority of Americans in calling for a different vision: one in which our nation recognizes Dreamers like Annie as valuable parts of American families and communities and chooses to provide certainty and citizenship for them instead of fear and deportation.”
Additional Resources
- Read the New York Times article by Miriam Jordan,“ICE Agents Detain Newlywed Spouse of Solider Training to Deploy.”
- Read a March 2026 letter to Congress from Gaby Pacheco and TheDream.US on the targeting of DACA recipients and Dreamers, available in full online HERE
- Read Gaby Pacheco’s assessment: “DACA Protections are Lawful, But the Targeting of DACA Recipients is Not.”
About TheDream.US
TheDream.US is the nation’s leading organization supporting Dreamers at the intersection of higher education, workforce development, immigration, and advocacy. We’ve awarded over 12,000 scholarships to immigrant youth from 120+ countries and 45 states, with 4,500 graduates to date. We partner with close to 80 colleges in 19 states and Washington D.C. to provide scholarships, career support, and access to legal options that help Dreamers break through systemic barriers and achieve social mobility.
Through data, Scholar and Alumni stories, strategic partnerships, and targeted state and local advocacy, we work to expand equitable access to college, professional pathways, and permanent legal status. For more information on TheDream.US, visit www.thedream.us
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