A two-tour Iraq war veteran from Phoenix is facing deportation to his native Trinidad and Tobago after he was detained by ICE agents while running family errands on January 22.
In an interview with FOX 10 Phoenix, Marlon Parris’s wife, Tanisha Parris, said her husband was criminally charged and convicted over 10 years ago, but he remains a legal resident of the United States.
Tanisha is currently holding discussions with Arizona senators to find a solution to her husband’s case. “We need to come to the table and agree that deporting veterans is not the right answer,” she said.
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Parris, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago before relocating to the United States, is being detained in Florence. “Our life has literally been flipped upside down,” said Tanisha. “I’m just so confused.”
Parris served in the United States army and is a combat veteran. “For you to even serve a country that you are not truly a native of, I feel like that alone is so selfless,” Tanisha said.
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Parris initially gained a green card in 1997, and he hasn’t faced any setbacks when renewing it. But Parris was convicted ten years ago after he entered a guilty plea to a non-violent felony drug charge as a first-time offender, per FOX 10 Phoenix. He eventually gained his freedom in 2016.
“Here we are, nine years later, with no type of occurrences,” his wife said. “Nothing much. Just a speeding ticket.”
Parris, who is also a father, is said to have turned over a new leaf after his release from prison. He even had his green card renewed under the first Trump government after serving time in prison. Federal agencies also gave him a letter indicating that he would not face deportation.
“He is not amenable to deportation or exclusion proceedings. DHS has no further interest in this case,” a part of the letter signed by Department of Homeland Security officials stated.
“You need to be true to your word,” Tanisha said. “You check the box, put your signature on something stating that he would not be deported.”
