PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A U.S. Marine is fighting to keep his family together after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents detained his father during a traffic stop in Greenacres on Sunday morning.
Christopher Alonso, 19, was on base in South Carolina when he received the devastating call that his father, Tirso, had been taken into custody while driving his family home from breakfast.
WATCH BELOW: Marine's father detained in immigration enforcement operation
"My dad asked, 'What was the reason he pulled him over?'" Christopher said. "They didn't give him a reason."
According to Christopher, his parents and siblings were in his father's work truck when an unmarked vehicle stopped them. Tirso, who has no criminal record, was immediately detained.
"Put him in handcuffs. No more further detail was given. They want to tell us why or where he was taking them to, and then they just left," Christopher said. "We believe my dad was racially profiled."
The Marine was immediately granted leave to return home and support his family after the traumatic experience.
"It was really a really painful experience to listen to, listening to my own mother crying on the phone. It's very difficult," Christopher said.
Christopher and his siblings, the youngest of whom is 7 years old, are U.S. citizens. Their parents are not.
"We don't know why they only took my dad and not (my mom) away," Christopher said. "More (than) likely it's because there were little kids there, scared and crying the entire time."
Christopher's parents have been fighting for years to obtain legal status since arriving in the U.S. from Mexico decades ago.
When Christopher turned 18 in 2024, he enlisted in the Marine Corps specifically to help his parents gain citizenship.
"When I found out that through the Marine Corps, I can help my parents get citizenship, or at least some sort of documents, so they can be safe, that's when I knew this is what I needed to do. So I joined (the military)," Christopher said.
Before Tirso's detention, Christopher had already applied for his parents to be "paroled in place" — a lawful immigration status that allows migrants who entered the U.S. unlawfully to stay for a certain period if they're immediate family members of a U.S. service member or veteran.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), "Parole in Place" is granted on a case-by-case basis for humanitarian reasons. USCIS data shows it takes an average of four months to process applications, with about 61% of the applications received last fiscal year approved. The data shows roughly 14% of PiP applications were denied during the same period, with the rest not yet processed.
However, when asked about the program, a USCIS spokesman said in an email: "The Trump administration is committed to ending the abuse of humanitarian parole programs, reversing Joe Biden's open border policy allowing poorly vetted aliens to circumvent the traditional parole process."
The family has learned that Tirso is being held at a Customs and Border Protection facility in Riviera Beach, which only handles short-term detentions. Christopher said his father has called twice since Sunday.
"He's doing well, but the treatment over there, or like, the environment over there, is not that good," Christopher said.
ICE's Detainee Locator confirms Tirso is not in their custody. CBP has not responded to requests for comment on its traffic stops.
The detention has left the family struggling emotionally and financially, as Tirso was the sole provider.
"It's really hard, especially (on) the kids, especially what they went through," Christopher said. "How can they really stay focused in school, if what they just watched is just really traumatizing for them?"
Despite the uncertainty, the family maintains their faith.
"(My dad) is trying to hold on strong. He keeps praying to God every day that he's able to come home to reunite with us," Christopher said, adding that after his father was detained, his mother went to church the same day. "Because of her belief in God and how much he believes that everything will get better — going on and seeing her like that — it just really breaks my heart."
Christopher told WPTV he remains proud of his service to his country and all he has accomplished as a Marine, but the situation highlights the difficult reality facing military families.
"It's just really hard knowing that what we do for this country, for the government, and how they treat us back. It's just really hard," he said.
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