News reports have focused on a recent incident involving a grandfather, Luis Leon, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Allegation
According to his family, Luis Leon, an 82-year-old Chilean national and permanent U.S. resident living in Allentown, Pennsylvania, was arrested by ICE agents on June 20, 2025, when he went to a Philadelphia office to replace a lost green card. The family claimed they were initially told by an alleged immigration lawyer that Leon had died in ICE custody. However, they later learned through a Chilean relative that he was alive but in a hospital in Guatemala.
ICE's response
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE have called the story a "hoax". DHS stated that ICE never arrested or deported Leon and has no record of him appearing at a green card appointment on June 20th. They also pointed out that the Guatemalan Institute of Migration, which coordinates deportations, has no record of anyone matching Leon's name, age, or nationality entering Guatemala.
Discrepancies and further reporting
A Chilean journalist, Jose Del Pino, further investigated the story and found no record of Leon at the hospital his family claimed treated him for pneumonia. Del Pino also reportedly found a death certificate for a man named Luis Leon with the same date of birth who died in Santiago, Chile, in 2019. Following these reports, Leon's family reportedly stated they would no longer speak to the media.
https://nypost.com/2025/07/23/us-news/grandpa-who-was-secretly-deported-by-ice-is-a-hoax-feds/
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