Filipino union leader ‘Kuya Max’ released from ICE detention

Maximo Londonio (center) thanks the cheering crowd outside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington. Photo from Tanggol Migrante

TACOMA, Wash. — Filipino green card holder Maximo Londonio has been released from the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, Washington, immigrant rights advocates announced Friday.

Londonio, 42, also known as Kuya Max, was detained by ICE after returning from a family visit to the Philippines on May 16 this year.

A lead forklift driver at Crown Cork & Seal in Olympia, Washington, and a member of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) Local 695, he has lived in the US since he was 12.

Members of IAM Local 695 and immigrant rights advocacy group Tanggol Migrante Network gathered outside the NWDC to celebrate his release with his wife Crystal, who is a US citizen, and to “express solidarity with detainees enduring the abhorrent conditions at the NWDC,” Tanggol Migrante said in a press release.

Photo from IAM website

Photo from Tanggol Migrante

You may like: CBP explains detention of Filipino green card holders at US airports

“Thank you for all your guys’ support, I really appreciate it,” Londonio was quoted as saying. “Big thank you to Tanggol Migrante, for sure. From beginning to end, you guys were there from day one. I appreciate you so much. And we’re gonna do more!”

Philippine Consulate representatives tried to attend Londonio’s hearing, “but the Londonios declined to have the Consulate present in court,” according to Tanggol Migrante.

Maximo Londonio with his family | FILE PHOTO

You may like ‘It was hell’: Filipino mom released from ICE detention

“We are not here for publicity,” Crystal Londonio, Max’s wife of 20 years, was quoted as saying. “We are here to bring awareness to unjust circumstances that our loved ones face.”

According to the press release, members of Migrante and Anakbayan approached the Consulate representatives, asking for a meeting with Tanggol Migrante and “to meet the demands of the Filipino detainees still appealing for genuine support.”

The Consulate representatives reportedly declined to have a meeting with Tanggol Migrante “just as the Embassy and its consulates continue to refuse meetings with the Filipino community and the families of the detained,” the press release said.

However, these claims have been refuted by the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco.

In a letter to Inquirer.net USA, Consul General Neil Frank Ferrer said the consulate has monitored Londonio’s case since his arrest on May 16 and has maintained regular contact with him and his family.

“Contrary to such claims, the consulate, in line with its mandate to provide assistance to Filipino nationals through rights protection and welfare promotion, has been in direct communication with the authorities, the next of kin of detained Filipino nationals, and the detainees themselves who are under the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement within the consulate’s jurisdiction, including Mr. Maximo Londonio,” Ferrer said.

Tanggol Migrante said Londonio’s release was “the latest victory” in their efforts to fight for Filipino migrants in detention, citing the recent release of green card holders Michelle, Lewelyn Dixon and Rodante Rivera.

“We will continue to demand the release of all other Filipino detainees,” the group said.