The wife of an active-duty Coast Guardsman was arrested by immigration authorities at Key West, Florida’s U.S. Naval Air Station after being flagged in a routine security check.
In a statement confirming the arrest, Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Steve Roth said, “The spouse is not a member of the Coast Guard and was detained by Homeland Security Investigations pursuant to a lawful removal order. The Coast Guard works closely with HSI and others to enforce federal laws, including on immigration.”
According to an anonymous U.S. official, the woman’s work visa expired around 2017, and she was marked for removal from the country a couple of years later. She and the Coast Guardsman married early this year. Though the Trump administration has made immigration arrests a top priority for federal law enforcement, the arrest did not immediately appear to be part of a broader sweep.
The same official said that the woman and her husband were preparing to move into their on-base housing, so they went to the visitor control center to get her a pass so she could access the Key West installation.
During a routine security check, the woman’s name was flagged as an issue. Personnel at the base contacted the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and soon NCIS and Coast Guard security were given permission from the base commander to enter the installation, and they then entered the Coast Guardsman’s home. Personnel from Homeland Security Investigations also joined them.
HSI took the woman into custody. The Coast Guard referred questions about the woman’s identity, immigration status, and charges to ICE, which refused to comment. The Department of Homeland Security also refused.
