Iraq War veteran ordered deported despite judge's sympathy after 30 years in U.S.
Jan 22, 2025·Location: Laveen, AZ
Country of origin: Trinidad and Tobago

Marlon Parris, 45, an Iraq War veteran who came to the U.S. from Trinidad and Tobago in 1997 as a child brought by his father, a naturalized U.S. citizen, has been held at Florence Correctional Center since his January 22 ICE detention, two days after President Trump's inauguration. He had held a green card for nearly 30 years, renewed in 2007 and 2017, and received a no-interest letter from ICE in 2016 stating he would not be deported after serving time for a drug-related conviction; in 2023, U.S. Customs revoked his green card upon his return from a vacation abroad with his wife, Tanisha Hartwell-Parris. On May 9, Judge Frank Travieso of Florence Immigration Court said he was sympathetic to Parris's case but ruled the government had presented sufficient evidence to proceed with deportation; his attorney, Douglas Kouffie, has filed motions challenging that evidence and raised an equitable estoppel argument.
Sources
More incidents in Arizona
- Father detained by ICE outside Phoenix school as children watchedSep 29, 2026 · Phoenix, AZ
- Venezuelan man nearly deported despite court order barring his removalSep 28, 2026 · Phoenix, AZ
- Mexican man thrown to ground by ICE while buying wood, son arrested interveningSep 25, 2026 · Phoenix, AZ
- Mexican father detained outside Flagstaff home; wife and children self-deportSep 17, 2026 · Flagstaff, AZ
- Phoenix man detained by ICE agents posing as electricians, family raises funds for bondSep 15, 2026 · Mesa, AZ
- ICE detains 10 day laborers outside Phoenix Home Depot, activists saySep 7, 2026 · Phoenix, AZ