VETERANS DEMAND RELEASE OF ARMY VETERAN DETAINED BY ICE AGENTS IN NEIGHBORHOOD AMBUSH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 10, 2025
Targeting those who have put their lives on the line for this country is a disgrace and a betrayal of the very values we swore to defend.
PHOENIX, AZ – Late last week, ICE agents carried out a targeted operation that ambushed Marlon Parris, a U.S. Army veteran who served three tours in Iraq, as he was leaving his home to go to work. Marlon has lived in the United States as a permanent resident for over 20 years, building his life and contributing to his community. Yet, instead of being treated with the respect he has earned, he was unlawfully detained in a disturbing escalation of Trump’s extremist mass deportation agenda.
Common Defense, alongside our veteran members in Arizona and across the country, is demanding Marlon’s immediate release and a full investigation into the ICE protocols that led to this unjust detainment. Targeting those who have put their lives on the line for this country is a disgrace and a betrayal of the very values we swore to defend.
For months, we have warned that Trump’s inhumane immigration crackdown and despicable obsession with “mass deportations” would lead to widespread injustice, ensnaring innocent people—including veterans—in a broken and abusive system. This latest operation confirms our worst fears. If even those who wore the uniform and fought for this country are not safe from Trump’s mass deportation machine, then no one is.
“We refuse to stand by while our brother-in-arms is unjustly torn from his family. Marlon answered the call to serve—now, we must answer the call to fight for him. It’s time to hold ICE accountable and demand his immediate release.” – Joanna Sweatt, USMC Veteran and Organizing Director for Common Defense.
Common Defense members and staff on the ground in Arizona are working with the family and local leaders on the next steps as this unfolds. Common Defense staff, members, and Marlon Parris’ wife are available to speak more on this egregious ambush by ICE. Press and media are being coordinated through our Press Manager, Clyde Gunter: clyde@commondefense.us.
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Common Defense Civic Engagement is a grassroots, veteran-led organization (501c4) that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.