An 82-year-old grandfather from Allentown, Pennsylvania was detained by ICE agents at an appointment to replace his lost green card and deported to Guatemala, a country he has never been before.
Luis Leon was granted political asylum in 1987 after surviving torture under Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet’s regime.
On June 20, Leon went with his wife to a Philadelphia immigration office to replace his lost green card. There, Leon was detained by agents with no explanation, according to The Morning Call, a local Allentown newspaper.
His wife was detained at the center for 10 hours before she was released. But, Leon disappeared without a trace.
His name did not appear in ICE’s online database of detainees and his family’s repeated calls to immigration officials yielded no answers regarding his whereabouts.
Leon’s granddaughter told The Morning Call that their frustration turned to grief on July 9 when they received a call from an unknown person who said Leon had died while in ICE custody.
A week after that call, the family received word that Leon had been taken to a detention center in Minnesota and then to Guatemala. He was later transferred to a hospital in Guatemala City. His condition is unknown.
Leon’s granddaughter says he suffers from diabetes, a heart condition and high blood pressure, among other conditions. She plans to visit him at the hospital on Saturday.
Since returning to office Donald Trump has pursued an aggressive mass deportation policy. Last month, the conservative majority on the United States Supreme Court allowed Trump to resume deporting migrants to ‘third countries’— countries other than their own.
Despite the Trump administration’s claim that they are focused on deporting violent criminals, there are multiple instances showing that is not the case. Leon’s granddaughter says he never even received a parking ticket.
An ICE official told The Morning Call that the agency is investigating the matter.
