AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
On June 20, 82-year-old Luis Leon, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, went to a Philadelphia immigration office with his wife to replace his lost green card. Instead, Leon, who immigrated to the U.S. from Chile in 1987, was handcuffed by two officers and hauled away with no explanation, according to a report in Friday’s The Morning Call, a local Allentown newspaper.
Leon’s wife, who was not named in the report, was detained at the immigration center for 10 hours before being released. His family made repeated calls to immigration officials, who were of no help in tracking down Leon’s whereabouts. Then on July 9, Leon’s wife received a call from an unknown person who said Luis had died while in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
That turned out to be untrue. Instead, Leon is at a hospital in Guatemala. His condition is unclear.
“Finally, on Friday, a relative from Leon’s native Chile was told he had been taken first to a detention center in Minnesota and then to
Since taking office for the second time, President Donald Trump has pursued a hyper-aggressive deportation scheme that has sent immigrants to countries they are not from.
The Morning Call reported:
In Allentown, he lived a quiet life, raising four children and enjoying retirement after years working at a leather manufacturing plant.It all fell apart, Nataly said, when he lost the wallet holding his green card and made the fateful appointment to replace it at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office on 41st Street in Philadelphia.Frustration at not knowing Leon’s whereabouts turned to grief July 9, when a caller informed Leon’s wife that he had died, Nataly said.
Leon’s granddaughter said Luis was granted political asylum in the U.S. after he fled the notorious Pinochet regime. She asked Morning Call not to use her surname for fear of government retaliation.
An official with ICE said it is investigating the case, but refused to offer any details.
“I can see all my family is in pain right now,” Nataly said.