Deported to Guatemala: 80-Year-Old Chilean Man Sent Away While Seeking Green Card Reissuance in US

Dragged Away by Immigration Officers While Visiting for Green Card Reissuance
Legal Asylum in the U.S. Since 1987 After Fleeing Pinochet's Dictatorship

An 80-year-old Chilean man living in Pennsylvania, USA, was deported to Guatemala?a country with which he has no ties?after visiting immigration authorities to reissue his lost green card.

According to a report by the British daily The Guardian on the 20th (local time), Louis Leon, 82, a resident of Allentown, Pennsylvania, made an appointment to visit the immigration office with his wife last month to reissue his lost green card. Upon his arrival at the immigration office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers handcuffed him, separated him from his wife, and took him away without any explanation.

A participant at a rally held on the 11th in Oxnard, California, USA, is holding a sign that reads 'Abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement.' Photo by Getty Images Yonhap News

The Guardian reported that Leon was tortured during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile and legally sought asylum in the United States in 1987. After Leon was taken away, his family searched for him in every possible way, but his whereabouts remained unknown. Sometime later, a woman claiming to be an immigration lawyer called the family, saying she could help them. However, she did not disclose Leon's location or how she became aware of the case. On July 9, this woman called again and falsely reported that Leon had died.

A week later, Leon's family learned through relatives in Chile that he was alive and had been detained at a facility in Minnesota, USA, before being deported to Guatemala. The relative claimed that Leon was not on any detention or deportation list, but ICE still sent him to Minnesota. Leon, who suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease, is now reportedly hospitalized in Guatemala, where he has no connections.

Meanwhile, after taking office, President Trump launched a large-scale crackdown on undocumented immigrants. His administration has established a policy allowing for deportation to third countries if the immigrant's country of origin refuses repatriation, and has subsequently deported immigrants to third countries in succession.