Ice secretly deported Pennsylvania grandfather, 82, after he lost green card

Too old for Latest Breaking News, but worthy of reading and getting even more pissed off at our dictator.

This man was granted asylum in 1987 from Chile, had worked a factory job, raised a family, and retired. He lost his wallet and had scheduled an appointment to get a replacement green card, but at that appointment he was kidnapped by ICE and hauled off to Guatemala where he had no ties.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/20/ice-secretly-deported-grandfather

An 82-year-old man in Pennsylvania was secretly deported to Guatemala after visiting an immigration office last month to replace his lost green card, according to his family, who have not heard from him since and were initially told he was dead.

According to Morning Call, which first reported the story, long-time Allentown resident Luis Leon – who was granted political asylum in the US in 1987 after being tortured under the regime of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet – lost his wallet containing the physical card that confirmed his legal residency. So he and wife booked an appointment to get it replaced.

When he arrived at the office on 20 June, however, he was handcuffed by two Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officers, who led him away from his wife without explanation, she said. She herself was kept in the building for 10 hours until relatives picked her up.

A week later, however, they discovered from a relative in Chile that Leon was alive after all – but now in a hospital in Guatemala, a country to which he has no connection.