“Why does it take months of Filipinos suffering and requesting and demanding help for [the Consulate] to come? And why would they continue to make them wait?”

MANILA — A grassroots campaign network for the protection of Filipino migrant workers was elated with the release of a Filipina green card holder but called out the Philippine government’s “lack of action” on the crackdown of immigrants.

Lewelyn or “Aunty Lynn” Dixon was finally released  from one of the United States’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, May 29. She was detained for three months. 

Dixon was apprehended on February 28 at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport upon her return from the Philippines. On March 2, the 64-year-old green card holder was taken into custody by ICE and detained at the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma.

Dixon, who works as laboratory technician at the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC), immigrated to the U.S. at 14 years old with her family. Her family had reported that at the time of her detention, they “haven’t officially been told why she’s being held. They just keep saying that they’re waiting for documents.”

Her lawyer, Benjamin Osorio, stated that the arrest stemmed from a single nonviolent conviction for embezzlement in 2001.

“She received 30 days in a halfway house and a $6,400 fine. She was never ordered to serve any active time in jail or prison. It was the travel that triggered the issue—and if she had not traveled, she would not be removable from the United States,” said Osorio, noting that her previous international trips had never caused problems.

Tanggol Migrante Network rallied support for Dixon’s case, as she became one of the first Filipino green card holders publicly known to be detained under Trump’s policies. The network even delivered a letter, signed by nearly 350 individuals, to the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in San Francisco to advocate for her release. Despite this, Dixon remained detained at the NWDC for three months “without meaningful support from the Philippine Consulate before her eventual release.” 

“Dixon’s case exposed glaring shortcomings and outright neglect by the Philippine Consulate, including revealing seven more Filipino nationals detained at the NWDC—many of whom said they tried to reach various Philippine Consulates, to no avail,” TMN said in a statement.

In an Inquirer report, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said that “all persons arriving at the port of entry to the United States are subject to inspection,” as part of the agency’s national security mission to determine the admissibility of foreign nationals under U.S. immigration law.

Filipino migrants remain vigilant as the U.S. government extends its crackdown to include green card holders with alleged past convictions classified as “crimes involving moral turpitude” (CIMTs) under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This means that green card holders can now be detained for nonviolent offenses committed decades ago.

On April 30, TMN wrote an open letter to the Philippine Embassy, demanding immediate action for Filipinos in immigration detention and other forms of distress. In the letter, they reiterated the cases of Filipinos who continue to languish in detention centers and warned that more may face similar fates as the Trump administration escalates its mass deportation plans.

The network’s letter called on the Philippine. government to fulfill its duty and truly serve the needs of the Filipino community. 

“We raise this to you knowing full well that you are not ignorant to our plight,” TMN said. 

Read: Detained Filipino migrants neglected in the US 

TMN also revealed that a group of Filipinos detained in the NWDC waited for five hours to speak with consular representatives—who only appeared after months of silence.

“While you say that your doors are open to assist us, we’ve experienced time and again that you shut us out from the embassy and consulates when we bring forward the concerns of Filipinos across the U.S.,” the network added.

In a recent statement, the Philippine Embassy accused TMN of being “insincere” in their work with detained nationals, alleging that the group had a predetermined plan to use a meeting as a platform to launch further criticism against the Philippine government. 

TNM has also been campaigning for the release of other detained Filipinos like Max Londonio and Rodante Rivera, who were detained and transferred to the NWDC due to nonviolent offenses committed in their youth.

Both Londonio and Rivera, legal green card holders, had been detained in CBP’s holding area known as “the black box” – cell rooms with no windows. According to reports, detainees in the black box are deprived of health services, food, and other necessities, and are not allowed to contact their families or lawyers.

“Why does it take months of Filipinos suffering and requesting and demanding help for [the Consulate] to come? And why would they continue to make them wait?” said Nadine Guyo of Tanggol Migrante Network Washington.

“The letters of support and the actions we have taken matter. Which means we must keep fighting. Aunty Lynn’s case has shed light on the dire situation of Filipino migrant workers all over the United States”, Guyo said. “If their own Filipino government is not standing up for them, we will.” (AMU, RVO)