TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Veterans, advocates and their supporters met in downtown Tucson, wearing red or holding roses, which are a symbol of anti-authoritarianism and solidarity for the immigrant community.
Tucsonans gathered at Veinte de Agosto Park early Saturday afternoon to listen to activists, advocates and lawmakers speak out against the current Trump administration, the deportations and detentions, especially those of veterans. That's an issue some of the activists say has been happening for decades.
One of those speakers, U.S. Navy veteran Alex Murillo spent over a decade in Mexico due to a marijuana possession conviction.
Now back in the U.S., he joined veteran advocacy group Common Defense to help other veterans.
"I experienced deportation and family separation, and it's probably the worst thing that ever happened to me," Murillo said.
He said he wouldn't wish it on anyone.
Though veterans are still caught up in the U.S. immigration system after returning home from their deployments.
U.S. Army veteran Marlon Parris served three tours in Iraq. He's currently held at a Florence, Ariz. detention facility after being taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody January 22 after President Donald Trump took office.
“It started out as a normal day," Parris's wife Tanisha Hartwell-Parris said. "Then, he was swarmed by 5 or 6 unmarked SUVs, and it was ICE.”
Parris was originally from Trinidad and Tobago, coming to the United States in 1997 and getting a green card. According to court documents, after his three tours in Iraq, Parris pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
After he served five years in prison, Hartwell-Parris says he husband was granted a letter of no interest from ICE in 2016 and began to turn his life around. He graduated from Grand Canyon University and started a business.
“When you give this letter of no interest, and then no new occurrences come about, we expect you to keep your word on there will not be any deportations,” Hartwell-Parris said.
The U.S. Congressional research Service says in 2024, around 40,000 active military members were foreign nationals, and 115,000 non-citizen veterans were living in the United States like Parris.
“This is happening more than you think" Hartwell-Parris said. "People who have took the time to fight for this country definitely belong in this country.”
Like Murillo, she says she'll keep sharing her story because of the other families just like hers.
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Alex Dowd is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9, where her work combines her two favorite hobbies: talking to new people and learning about the community around her. Her goal is to eventually meet every single person in Tucson. Share your story ideas with Alex via email, alex.dowd@kgun9.com, or connecting on Instagram or X.
