Filipino green card holder detained in US released

By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora, Philippine News Agency

US IMMIGRATION. A United States Customs and Border Protection officer directs arriving international passengers to the baggage claim area at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona on Dec. 11, 2024. The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco on Saturday (May 31, 2025) said the 64-year-old Filipino green card holder who was detained upon arrival in the United States in February has been ordered released by immigration authorities. (Photo courtesy of US Customs and Border Protection)

MANILA – Lewelyn Dixon, a 64-year-old Filipino green card holder who was detained upon arrival in the United States in February, has been released.

In a statement Saturday, the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco said an immigration judge ordered her release from the Tacoma Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Center.

Dixon immigrated to the US from the Philippines five decades ago and was held in custody by Customs Border Patrol on Feb. 28 upon returning from the Philippines.

Her detention came as the Trump administration intensifies its immigration crackdown.

The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco said it was present during the hearing on Dixon’s case in Tacoma, Washington on May 29, to provide appropriate assistance and to ensure that her rights are respected.

“The Consulate affirms its commitment to extend the necessary assistance to all Filipino nationals under its jurisdiction and to perform its functions in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and other international agreements, cognizant of its duty to respect the laws and relevant regulations of the host government,” it said.

After the hearing, the Consulate’s representatives were able to speak with Dixon in private and handed over the welfare assistance approved by the Department of Foreign Affairs.