US immigration says it did not deport Chilean man living in Pennsylvania, refuting report

WASHINGTON — U.S. immigration authorities on Monday denied reports that they detained or deported a Chilean man living in the country on a green card.

The Morning Call of Allentown, Pennsylvania, reported that Luis Leon, 82, ended up in Guatemala after being handcuffed in a Philadelphia immigration office, where he went to replace his lost green card June 20. The report, which said he won asylum in 1987, relied on family accounts.

The Morning Call reported Sunday that Leon was recovering from pneumonia in Guatemala and did not plan to return to the United States, according to his granddaughter. A phone message left Monday at a number linked to the granddaughter was not returned.

The Department of Homeland Security said it had no record of Leon appearing for an appointment in or near Philadelphia June 20 and said he legally entered the U.S. in 2015 as a visitor. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman, Jason Koontz, said the agency didn't deport Leon anywhere.

The Guatemalan Migration Institute said in a statement Sunday that it coordinates with ICE on all deportations from the United States and that no one matched Leon’s name, age or citizenship.