https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/family-says-allentown-grandfather-in-guatemala-after-ice-arrest-but-country-says-it-has-no-records-of-him/
Family says Allentown grandfather in Guatemala after ICE arrest, but country says it has no records of him
The granddaughter of Allentown grandfather Luis Leon says he is recovering from pneumonia in a Guatemala hospital, weeks after he was taken in handcuffs from a Philadelphia immigration office and driven two days by bus to a detention center in Minnesota.
However, the Guatemalan Institute of Migration, which tracks migrants sent to that country, said it has not received anyone of South American origin, and said there is “no person who matches the name, age and nationality mentioned by the media.”
Guatemala denies that Chilean green-card holder from Allentown was deported from the United States
The granddaughter, Nataly — who has asked her surname not be used to protect her family — said the 82-year-old Allentown man recounted the story Saturday from his hospital bed in Guatemala City, where he was in his sixth day of treatment for pneumonia. He said he arrived in Guatemala July 1.
The deportation of Luis Leon, a retired man who had lived legally in the U.S. for nearly 40 years, is the latest example of the Trump administration taking immigration enforcement too far. Reports confirm widespread actions resulting in the deportation of longtime residents… pic.twitter.com/r5Rmsk41Ey— NowThis Impact (@nowthisimpact) July 21, 2025
“He was really bad,” she said. “He was super skinny. He’s really traumatized right now.”
She said Leon has no plans to return to Allentown.
Until Saturday, the last time family had seen Leon was June 20, after he and his wife went to the Philadelphia office to replace Leon’s lost green card, Nataly said. As they waited in a second-floor room, Leon’s wife told family members, he was placed in handcuffs by two officers and escorted out.
She was left behind, spending 10 hours in a room until she was finally released to her granddaughter. No one from the government ever told the family why, or where, Leon was taken, Nataly said.
Leon told Nataly his phone was taken away and that when he demanded information, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers — who addressed him and several other detainees on the bus as “Mario” — said Leon had no rights in the United States.
On Friday, ICE said it was investigating the family’s claims about Leon and would not provide other information, refusing even to say if he and his wife were ever at the Philadelphia office.
An ICE official on Sunday, asked for comment on the story Nataly shared, reiterated that the matter is under investigation and offered no further comment.
For a time, Leon’s family believed he was dead. A woman claiming to be an immigration attorney contacted the family unsolicited a few days after Leon was arrested and claimed to know where he was, though she wouldn’t say where. On July 9, the woman called to say Leon had died in detention, offering scant details. The family has since been unable to reach her.
According to Nataly, a Chilean government contact of Leon’s brother was able to reach an official here who told him Leon had been taken to Minnesota, then to Guatemala. It isn’t clear if that official was from ICE or another government agency. Leon fled Chile in 1987 to escape the dictatorial regime of Augusto Pinochet
It’s also unclear whether Leon had a deportation hearing before he was sent to Guatemala, which has an agreement with the U.S. to accept deportees from other nations. Deportees typically arrive for processing at La Aurora Air Force Base in Guatemala City and are then sent to temporary shelters.
Nataly said she isn’t sure where her grandfather spent the time between his arrival and his hospitalization because her time with him has been limited.
He told her he tried to contact his family but, because he didn’t have his phone, couldn’t provide phone numbers.
Nataly said she plans to ask her grandfather more about the experience in coming days but is treading lightly because he is frail. Leon has a number of preexisting conditions — diabetes, atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure — that made him vulnerable even before the pneumonia, she said.
“For now he just wants to recover,” she said.
He told her he doesn’t plan to return to the United States, but hopes to have his wife join him as soon as possible in his new home.
President Donald Trump promised during his presidential campaign to expel millions of migrants in the largest deportation program in U.S. history, but often indicated it would focus on migrants in the country without permission who have committed a crime.
However, the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, which gathers data on federal immigration enforcement, says the vast majority of people in ICE detention as of July 13 — 40,643 out of 56,816, or 71.5% — have no criminal convictions.
Leon’s family said he has never had so much as a parking ticket.
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