Consulate keeps contact with detained Filipino in Washington

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

FILE: DFA Spokesperson Ma. Teresita C. Daza during the Press Briefing at the DFA today. (DFA-OPCD Photo by Philip Adrian Fernandez)

MANILA – The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco has direct communication with the Filipino green card holder who was detained by United States immigration authorities in Washington, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Friday.

Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said the consulate also maintains an open line with the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Tacoma, Washington.

She assured that the consulate stands ready to provide necessary aid to all Filipinos in need of consular assistance under its jurisdiction.

“The Philippine Consulate continues to extend appropriate consular assistance to Filipino citizens across its jurisdiction regardless of immigration status, while respecting US laws as well as individual privacy,” she said.

Olympia City resident Maximo Londonio, a Filipino national who immigrated to the US at age 12, was reportedly taken into custody on May 15 by the CBP at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport upon his return from a vacation in the Philippines.

He visited relatives with his wife, Crystal, and the youngest of their three children. The couple also celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary.

The detention sparked protests and demands for his immediate release. Tanggol Migrante Network WA, a community group supporting Filipino migrants and families, told The Seattle Times that Londonio may have been detained because of nonviolent convictions from more than two decades ago, but which were already resolved.

Londonio is the latest green card holder to be detained by US authorities as the Trump administration doubles down on its crackdown on immigrants.