ICE Rejects Deporting 82-Year-Old Torture Survivor In Pennsylvania, Calls Family Claim a 'Hoax'

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials have denied detaining and deporting an 82-year-old torture survivor from Chile, claiming that his family's claim that he has ended up in Guatemala as a result is a "hoax."

The agency noted that there is no record of Luis Leon appearing at a green card appointment in or around Philadelphia on June 20, date when his family said he sought to replace a lost green card but was detained instead.

"ICE's only record of this individual entering the U.S. is in 2015 from Chile under the visa waiver program," the agency claimed in a statement.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin added that "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."

The family, however, claimed that Leon ended up in the Central American country as a result of being deported by ICE. His granddaughter told The Morning Call, which has been following the case, that she visited him in a hospital in Guatemala City. He had been there for six days being treated for pneumonia and traumatized by the events that began in late June.

They had claimed that on July 9, a woman claiming to be an immigration lawyer contacted the family to report that Leon had died. Days later, however, a relative in Chile informed them that Leon was alive and hospitalized in Guatemala.

Leon's family didn't reply to requests for further comment, saying they would no longer speak to media and wanted privacy.

Adding to the confusion, the Guatemalan Institute of Migration said it did not receive anyone from South American origin and there is no person matching his description in the country. The institute also highlighted that Guatemala does not accept deportees from Chile under its current agreement with the United States.

Moreover, a Chilean journalist said a doctor Leon's daughter claimed to see in Guatemala had no recollection of treating him. Moreover, a man with the same name and date of birth died in Santiago, Chile, in 2019.