Guatemala denies that Chilean green-card holder was deported from the United States
GUATEMALA CITY — The Guatemalan government has refuted claims that a Chilean man was deported to Guatemala by U.S. authorities.
Reports from The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania, suggest that Luis Leon, an 82-year-old legal permanent resident of the United States who was granted asylum in 1987, found himself in Guatemala after being detained at a Philadelphia immigration office while attempting to replace his lost green card. Family accounts were the primary source of information in the news report.
According to The Morning Call, Leon is currently recovering from pneumonia in Guatemala and has no intentions of returning to the United States, as confirmed by his granddaughter.
The report also indicated that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is investigating the circumstances surrounding Leon’s situation, although ICE declined to comment when approached by The Associated Press.
In response to the allegations, the Guatemalan Migration Institute released a statement asserting that they collaborate with ICE on all deportations from the United States and that there was no record of anyone matching Leon’s name, age, or citizenship being deported to Guatemala.
It is worth noting that Guatemala entered into an agreement in February to accept deportees from the United States who are citizens of other Central American nations, but this agreement does not encompass individuals from Chile.
The Trump administration has adopted a policy of deporting individuals to countries other than their own, including recent cases involving El Salvador, South Sudan, and the African kingdom of Eswatini.
