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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has denied reports an 82-year-old Chilean man was deported from the United States to Guatemala after losing his green card.
Pennsylvania newspaper The Morning Call had cited family members as saying Luis Leon was deported when he went for an appointment to replace his legal residency card.
"Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has not deported Luis Leon—a Chilean national—to Guatemala, as his family members have said," said a DHS statement.
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Why It Matters
President Donald Trump has directed his administration to remove millions of migrants without legal status as part of the Republican Party's flagship mass deportation policy. The White House has declared that anyone living in the country illegally is considered to be a "criminal" by the administration.
In addition to people living in the country without legal status, immigrants with valid documentation, including green cards and visas, have been detained. Newsweek has revealed dozens of cases involving green card holders and applicants who were swept up in the ICE raids.
What To Know
The DHS denied as "completely false" a Morning Call report, unverified by Newsweek, that cited Leon's family as saying he had been detained at a Philadelphia immigration office on June 20.
His family told the paper they could not locate him for weeks and were told he had died before his granddaughter said he was recovering from pneumonia in Guatemala and did not plan to return to the United States.
A DHS statement issued to Newsweek late Monday said: "The DHS set the record straight on misleading and false reporting that U.S. ICE 'secretly deported' a so-called 'Allentown grandfather' to Guatemala. Additionally, reporting claimed he 'died' in ICE custody."
The DHS said the article had been published "without any facts from DHS about major allegations made against law enforcement."
The department statement said: "The family of the individual allegedly told reporters he was handcuffed and taken by federal officers at a green card appointment in Philadelphia. This claim is completely false. There is no record of the man appearing at any green card appointment in or around the area of Philadelphia on June 20."
"Furthermore, ICE has not deported Luis Leon—a Chilean national—to Guatemala, as his family members have said. ICE's only record of this individual entering the U.S. is in 2015 from Chile under the visa waiver program," added the statement.
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"According to reporting by the Associated Press, the Guatemalan Institute of Migration—which coordinates with ICE on all deportations from the U.S. to Guatemala—claims they have not received anyone matching the name, age or nationality of Luis Leon back into Guatemala.
"According to the report, the family alleges a woman claiming to be an immigration lawyer called and offered to help them but did not disclose how she knew about the case. The family claims this individual also told them Leon died in ICE custody," said the DHS statement.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said: "ICE never arrested or deported Luis Leon to Guatemala. Nor does ICE 'disappear' people—this is a categorical lie being peddled to demonize ICE agents who are already facing an 830% increase in assaults against them. This was a hoax peddled by the media who rushed to press without pausing to corroborate the facts with DHS. This was journalistic malpractice."
The Morning Call reported that the man's name did not appear on any publicly listed ICE detainee locator.
What People Are Saying
Luis Leon's granddaughter, Nataly, originally told The Morning Call: "I can see all my family is in pain right now."
The Morning Call reported on July 21: "She [Nataly] did not respond to further requests for comment Monday, a day after her family issued a statement saying they would no longer speak to the media and were asking for privacy."
Correction, 07/22/25, 8:45 a.m. ET: This article was updated with the DHS denying Luis Leon had been deported. It was also updated with reporting from the Associated Press that the Guatemalan Institute of Migration had not received anyone matching his name, age or nationality. The headline was also updated.
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