Luis Leon’s family was first informed that he had died, but they later discovered he was alive in a hospital in Guatemala.
An 82-year-old man from Pennsylvania was quietly deported to Guatemala last month after visiting an immigration office to replace his lost green card, according to his family. They have not heard from him since and were initially misinformed that he had passed away.
As first reported by the Morning Call, longtime Allentown resident Luis Leon—who was granted political asylum in the U.S. in 1987 after being tortured under Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet—lost his wallet, which contained his green card. He and his wife scheduled an appointment to have it replaced.
But when he arrived at the office on June 20, two Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers handcuffed him and took him away without giving any explanation to his wife, she said. She was then detained in the building for 10 hours until family members came to get her.
The family said they made every effort to locate him but were unable to find any information about his whereabouts.
Sometime after Leon was detained, a woman claiming to be an immigration lawyer contacted the family, offering to help—yet she didn’t reveal how she knew about the case or where Leon was being held.
On July 9, according to Leon’s granddaughter, the same woman called again—this time claiming that Leon had died.
However, a week later, a relative in Chile informed the family that Leon was, in fact, alive—recovering in a hospital in Guatemala, a country with which he has no ties.
According to the Morning Call, the relative said Leon was initially held at an immigration detention center in Minnesota before being deported to Guatemala—despite his name never appearing on any official ICE detention or deportation lists.
A recent Supreme Court ruling allowed the Trump administration to deport immigrants to countries other than their country of origin.
Over nearly 40 years in the U.S., Leon built a life—working in a leather manufacturing plant, raising a family, and eventually retiring.
Leon’s condition at the hospital in Guatemala remains unknown. According to his family, he suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure, and a heart condition. They say they are now planning to travel to Guatemala to be with him.
An ICE official told the Morning Call that the agency is actively investigating the matter.
