A US Marine Corps veteran is raising concerns after his wife, a Mexican national and mother of their two young children, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while breastfeeding their 3-month-old daughter, NBC News reports.
The case has highlighted growing tensions around immigration enforcement and protections for military families.
Adrian Clouatre, a service-disabled Marine veteran, said his wife, Paola Clouatre, was taken into custody during what was expected to be a routine green card appointment in late May. The couple had been following the legal process to adjust Paola’s immigration status after their 2024 marriage.
According to Clouatre, the couple was asked to wait in the lobby following a discussion about a prior deportation order linked to a missed court appearance by Paola’s mother over a decade ago. Minutes later, ICE officers arrived and arrested Paola, who handed her husband her wedding ring before being taken away.
“She was trying to do the right thing,” Clouatre said, fighting back tears as he described feeding their infant daughter formula and soothing their toddler’s questions about his absent mother. “We were doing everything we were supposed to do.”
Paola Clouatre, now 25, came to the United States with her mother as a child seeking asylum. Adrian Clouatre says they were unaware of the outstanding deportation order from 2018, which stemmed from her mother’s missed immigration hearing.
The family’s lawyer, Carey Holliday, described the arrest as “a hell of a way to treat a veteran,” and said they have filed a motion asking a California judge to reopen Paola’s case.
“You take their wives and send them back to Mexico?” Holliday said. “There has to be some discretion.”
The Department of Homeland Security has defended the detention.
“Ms. Clouatre is in the country illegally,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said. “Ignoring an immigration judge’s order to leave the US is a bad idea.”
An online statement from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) appeared to reference the case, saying the agency “has a long memory and no tolerance for defiance.”
However, Clouatre argues that his wife did not knowingly defy the order and had been living openly while seeking lawful status.
“She came here as a minor, she didn’t know,” he said. “If she had been arrested back then, we wouldn’t have met.”
Military immigration experts note that, until recently, families of veterans and active-duty personnel were often granted leniency in similar cases. Margaret Stock, a former Army officer and immigration attorney, said a 2024 policy shift has reduced that discretion. In February, USCIS issued a memo stating it would “no longer exempt” certain categories—including military families—from referral to ICE for removal.
While USCIS still offers programs intended to help family members of service members apply for legal status, critics argue these no longer shield applicants from arrest during the process. Since June 12, the agency has referred over 26,000 cases to ICE, according to federal data.
Meanwhile, the Clouatres’ situation contrasts with recent social media ads from Marine Corps recruiters that promote enlistment as a path to immigration relief for family members—particularly targeting Latino communities.
“It sends the wrong message to the recruits,” Stock said. “They’re being told one thing, but the policy is now something very different.”
The Marine Corps has since clarified that recruiters are not authorized to make promises about immigration benefits, and new guidance has been issued to prevent such claims.
For now, Adrian Clouatre continues caring for their children in Baton Rouge, making the eight-hour round-trip to visit his wife in a rural detention center whenever he can. He hopes a judge will reopen Paola’s case and allow their family to reunite.
“I’m not political,” he said. “I just want my family together.”
