Filipino green card holder released after 3-month US ICE detention

Manila: Lewelyn Dixon, a 64-year-old Filipino immigrant and longtime US green card holder, was released from detention by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following an immigration hearing on May 29 at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington.

Dixon, who has lived in the US since she was 14, was detained earlier this year while returning home to Seattle from a trip to the Philippines. Her release brought her to tears.

“I’m feeling relief, elated, happy,” she said emotionally after the hearing. “It was hell,” she added, reflecting on the three months she spent in detention, as reported by the Seattle Times.

Migrant rights groups say Dixon’s experience is part of a broader pattern of aggressive immigration enforcement that has affected many long-term Filipino immigrants in recent years.

During the hearing, Dixon disclosed that she had two past convictions. In 2001, she was found guilty of embezzling approximately $6,500 from Washington Mutual Bank, where she worked as a vault teller.

Walmart theft

A decade later, in 2011, she was convicted of theft after unintentionally walking out of a Walmart with $27 worth of unpaid items in her purse.

She said she had planned to return and pay for the items but was stopped before she could.

These convictions were cited by immigration authorities as the reason for her arrest and detention.

Despite her legal history, Dixon noted that she had taken full responsibility for both incidents.

She was ordered to repay the embezzled funds and spent 30 days at a residential reentry center, but served no jail time. For the 2011 case, she completed community service and the charge was later dismissed.

“I think it was temptation that led me to it,” she told the court about the embezzlement. “There was just so much money I had never seen before.”

Over the decades, Dixon traveled freely between the US and the Philippines without facing problems.

Property

She explained that she never pursued US citizenship because she made a promise to her father to help maintain their family property in the Philippines.

Her family was unaware of her convictions and reluctant to discuss her recent detention. She only revealed the details during her hearing, with guidance from her attorney, Benjamin Osorio.

Judge rules in migrant's favour

Immigration Judge Tammy Fitting ruled in Dixon’s favour, granting her relief under provisions for lawful permanent residents who have lived in the U.S. for at least five years and do not have convictions for aggravated felonies.

In her decision, Judge Fitting cited Dixon’s long-standing legal residency, consistent employment, history of tax payments, strong family ties, and numerous letters of support.

The government attorney also waived the right to appeal.

Under US immigration law, two convictions involving "crimes of moral turpitude" can jeopardise a green card holder’s status.

While such crimes may not lead to removal when the person is already inside the US, reentry after international travel can trigger grounds of inadmissibility — even with just one such conviction.

Throughout her detention, Dixon received support from family, friends, and members of Tanggol Migrante Network Washington, an advocacy group for Filipino migrants and their families.