Allentown man said to have died in ICE custody is alive in Guatemala
9 months ago
- #human_rights
- #immigration
- #detention
- 82-year-old Luis Leon disappeared after visiting a Philadelphia immigration office to replace his lost green card.
- Leon was handcuffed and taken away without explanation, leaving his wife behind for 10 hours.
- Family inquiries to immigration officials, prisons, hospitals, and morgues yielded no information about Leon's whereabouts.
- Leon was later found to have been taken to a detention center in Minnesota and then to a hospital in Guatemala.
- Leon was granted political asylum in 1987 after surviving torture under Chile's Pinochet regime.
- The family was falsely informed that Leon had died, causing immense grief.
- Leon suffers from diabetes, heart conditions, and high blood pressure, but his current condition is unknown.
- The Trump administration's deportation policies have led to detentions of individuals without criminal records, including Leon.
- A mysterious woman claiming to be an immigration lawyer misled the family about Leon's status and whereabouts.
- Leon's family plans to travel to Guatemala to reunite with him and seek answers about his treatment.