Marcell Ibarra, a senior at Desert View High School on Tucsonβs south side, wants his best friend, his βride or die,β back, he told a group of reporters on Monday morning.
βHeβs working his behind off to be graduating,β Ibarra said of his classmate Thomas Torres, who is only two weeks away from graduating from Desert View with his high school diploma.
It is uncertain whether Torres, 18, will graduate with his friend, though. The teen was detained by Border Patrol on Thursday, May 2, after being pulled over by a Pima County Sheriffβs Department officer in a traffic stop.
Torres may have a court date for May 22 β the same day he is supposed to graduate, according to Sunnyside Unified spokesman Victor Mercado.
βHe has my back and I have his,β Ibarra continued. βHe needs to be back. β¦ This shouldnβt be happening.β
At least 120 of Torresβ Desert View classmates protested his detainment in front of the Sheriffβs Department headquarters off Benson Highway and Kino Parkway, Monday morning. Torres is currently in a Border Patrol detention center in Casa Grande, Ibarra said.
βFree Thomas! Free Thomas! Free Thomas!β his friends and peers chanted over a speaker blasting rap music. They held long banners emblazoned with the phrases βCon Justicia Hay Pazβ β with justice there is peace β β#FreeThomasβ and βOPERATION THOMAS.β
βViva Mexico!β individual students yelled at multiple points throughout the demonstration.
The students marched Monday morning holding handmade signs and Mexican flags to the Sheriffβs Department from Desert View β a more than 4-mile walk, according to Google Maps β to protest their friendβs detainment and demand he be released from Border Patrolβs custody without a bond, immediately.
βBecause we as students canβt afford to pay it,β Desert View senior Jamilet Fragoso, one of Torresβ friends who organized the march to the Sheriffβs Department, said through a megaphone.
Two of Torresβ friends, Ervyn Rivas and Louis Escalante, were in the car when he was pulled over in front of the Dollar General on Drexel Road and Alvernon Way.
The officer didnβt tell the boys why he pulled them over, they told the Star.
The officer asked Torres if he had been drinking or using drugs β there were a few Mikeβs Hard Lemonades visible in the car, which the boys said belonged to Torresβ mom β and asked him to get out of the car to take a sobriety test, he said.
After asking Torres to take the sobriety test, the officer asked for his social security number, they continued. The officer called Border Patrol shortly after that, Rivas said.
βThey (the police and border patrol) didnβt do anything with us,β said Rivas, who waited with Torres for over an hour before Border Patrol detained him. βWe were just worried about him.β
It is uncertain if Torres had a driverβs license with him when he was pulled over. The Sheriffβs Department did not respond to calls and emails asking for confirmation of the boysβ account of the incident. Border Patrol confirmed that Torres remained in custody on Monday but provided no further details.
At the protest, a handful of Torresβ best friends spoke to his character as his peers stood behind them in solidarity.
Torres, who plays football at Desert View, is a down-to-earth, kind person that everybody gets along with, they said. He works hard to do well in school. After graduating, he wants to study to be an electrical engineer, Ibarra said.
βThis shouldnβt be happening to him,β Ibarra said for the second time.
This shouldnβt be happening to any undocumented person, said one of Torresβ good friends, Daffne Anselmo.
βWe feel that threat that any of us can be taken at any moment,β Anselmo said.
Dozens of Desert View students walked off campus Monday to protest the Border Patrol apprehension of a fellow student. They claim the student was detained after a Thursday night traffic stop by a Pima County deputy.
Thatβs the other reason the students protested outside of the Sheriffβs Department, Monday morning. Not just for their friend, but for Tucsonβs immigrant and Latino communities.
βWe shouldnβt be worried about ending up in jail or prison after school,β Anselmo said to the crowd through a megaphone. βWe look different, but weβre all made the same.β
Though the students donβt have any other protest plans at the moment, they will continue to fight for the release of their friend.
βAs far as it takes us,β Ibarra said.
Photos: Desert View Students Walkout
Student Walkout
Updated
Quiriat Rosas, 17, speaks to the crowd after students from Desert View High School marched to the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 1750 E Benson Hwy on May 6th, 2019 in Tucson, Ariz. Approximately 200 students walked out to protest the detention of their classmate, Thomas Torres, who was stopped by a sheriff's deputy on May 2 and was detained until Border Patrol arrived.
Student Walkout
Updated
From left to right, Marcell Ibarra, 18, Daffne Anselmo, 16, and Jamilet Fragoso, 16, comfort each other after talking about their close friend Thomas Torres, a Desert View High School student who was taken into custody by Border Patrol after a traffic stop by a Pima County Sheriff's Department deputy on May 2.
Student Walkout
Updated
Approximately 200 students from Desert View High School marched to the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 1750 E Benson Hwy on May 6, 2019 to protest the detention of their classmate, Thomas Torres, who was stopped by a sheriff's deputy on May 2 and was detained until Border Patrol arrived.
Student Walkout
Updated
Quiriat Rosas, 17, center with sign, and other students dance to Mexican music after marching from Desert View High School to the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 1750 E Benson Hwy on May 6th, 2019 in Tucson, Ariz. Approximately 200 students walked out to protest the detention of their classmate, Thomas Torres, who was stopped by a sheriff's deputy on May 2 and was detained until Border Patrol arrived.
Student Walkout
Updated
Approximately 200 students from Desert View High School marched to the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 1750 E Benson Hwy on May 6th, 2019 in Tucson, Ariz. to protest the detention of their classmate, Thomas Torres, who was stopped by a sheriff's deputy on May 2 and was detained until Border Patrol arrived.
Student Walkout
Updated
Approximately 200 students from Desert View High School marched to the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 1750 E Benson Hwy on May 6th, 2019 in Tucson, Ariz. to protest the detention of their classmate, Thomas Torres, who was stopped by a sheriff's deputy on May 2 and was detained until Border Patrol arrived. The owner of BK Tacos heard about the protest and brought Sonoran hot dogs to the students.
Student Walkout
Updated
After marching from Desert View High School to the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 1750 E Benson Hwy on May 6, 2019 in Tucson, Ariz., students take a rest.Β
Student Walkout
Updated
Approximately 200 students from Desert View High School marched to the Pima County Sheriff's Department at 1750 E Benson Hwy on May 6th, 2019 in Tucson, Ariz. to protest the detention of their classmate, Thomas Torres, who was stopped by a sheriff's deputy on May 2 and was detained until Border Patrol arrived.
