AFilipino green card holder who has lived in the United States since childhood was detained and placed in solitary confinement after returning from a family trip to the Philippines, before later being released—a sequence of events that has left his family outraged.
On May 15, Customs and Border Protection officers stopped Maximo Londonio, a 42-year-old Olympia, Washington, resident, at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport while he was returning from a trip to the Philippines with his wife, Crystal Londonio.
The couple had traveled overseas to mark their 20th wedding anniversary, but instead of a routine entry process, Londonio was taken into custody and held in what the family described as harsh conditions.
“A lack of compassion, a lack of care when it comes to, you know, necessities, basic needs, you know, good water, quality water,” Crystal Londonio told KING 5 Seattle at an anti-ICE protest in Seattle on Labor Day.
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via email and the family through a GoFundMe page for comment outside office hours.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump‘s administration has ramped up immigration enforcement operations in a bid to conduct widespread deportations.
Immigrants residing in the country illegally and legally, with valid documentation such as green cards and visas, have been detained under hard-line mass deportation plans. Newsweek has documented dozens of cases involving green card holders and applicants who were swept up in the immigration raids and various arrests, as well as several who have been released from detention.
What To Know
Born in the Philippines, Londonio came to the United States when he was 12 and has lived here since 1997, according to the immigrant advocacy group Tanggol Migrante Network WA. He and his wife have three daughters, all U.S. citizens.
Londonio works as a lead forklift operator and is a dues-paying member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Local 695. His supporters cite his long-term residence, steady work and family ties as reasons he should not be deported.
Federal immigration law allows lawful permanent residents to be placed in removal proceedings if they have certain criminal convictions. Londonio’s record includes prior convictions for grand theft and drug possession, according to DHS.
After being detained at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma for two months under conditions his family described as inhumane, Londonio was released from ICE custody. Tanggol Migrante Network WA told Newsweek in July that Londonio had spent “nearly a month in solitary confinement.”
KING 5 Seattle reported that 800 people attended the Labor Day anti-ICE protest.
What People Are Saying
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek in May: “Maximo Londono has a criminal record, including convictions for grand theft and the use of a controlled substance. Under federal immigration law, lawful permanent residents convicted of these types of crimes can lose their legal status and be removed. If you are an alien, being in the United States is a privilege—not a right. When you break our laws that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country.”
Maximo Londonio’s family wrote on GoFundMe: “Maximo is not a threat—he is a devoted father, loving husband, community member, and worker. He has rebuilt his life with dignity and purpose, and now his family’s future is being torn apart by a broken immigration system that’s targeting long-settled immigrants like him.”
What Happens Next
Londonio’s long-term immigration status remains in question. It is unknown whether his green card has been revoked or if immigration authorities will begin removal proceedings.
https://www.newsweek.com/green-card-holder-solitary-confinement-immigration-2122990