Filipino freed from detention decries ICE abuse, neglect of PH government

Maximo Londonio, with daughter Beayanca (left) and wife Crystal, shares his experience at a virtual press conference on Thursday. Screencap/Zoom video

LOS ANGELES – Maximo Londonio, a Filipino green card holder who was released recently after nearly two months of detention at the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, Washington, on Thursday thanked those who worked for his freedom, but decried the abuse he suffered while in detention.

Londonio, also known as “Kuya Max,” and his wife Crystal also bewailed the alleged failure of the Philippine government to support the fight for Londonio’s release.

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“Where were you when we needed you?” Crystal asked as she broke down in tears during a virtual press conference, attended by immigration and migrant workers’ rights advocates and journalists from across the United States and around the world.

Maximo Londonio thanks the cheering crowd outside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, after his release from detention on July 11. FILE PHOTO

The 42-year-old Londonio, who has lived in the United States since he was 12 years old, was arrested and detained by Customs Border Patrol agents on May 15 at the Seattle Tacoma International Airport upon arrival from vacation in the Philippines.

Londonio’s wife Crystal and her youngest daughter, both US citizens who traveled with him to the Philippines, were allowed by ICE agents to leave the airport. Londonio was transferred to the Tacoma detention facility on May 20, where he was placed in solitary confinement for 27 days.

Londonio, a father of three, thanked Tanggol Migrante for fighting for his release and talked about his detention, which he said “I wouldn’t want anybody to experience.”

Maximo Londonio with his family | FILE PHOTO

He said he was sharing his experience in pursuit of truth and accountability.

Tanggol Migrante Network worked to secure legal representation for Londonio and raise awareness of his detention.

Representatives from Migrante USA and the International Migrants Alliance (IMA) spoke on the Filipino migrants currently in detention and “the US’ violent attacks on our migrant community, the deplorable conditions and human rights violations within the NWDC, and the general lack of any meaningful response by the Philippine government to the violations of the basic rights of their nationals.”

Jess Roxas of IMA said that under the Vienna Convention, consulates are mandated to offer protection to their nationals on legal matters and financial assistance that is swift and effective. He cited the case of detained Irish green card holder, Cliona Ward, who was provided full assistance by the Ireland’s consulate earlier this year.

Washington State is under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco.

The Consulate, however, said it had monitored Londonio’s case since his arrest on May 16 and maintained regular contact with him and his family.

In a letter to Inquirer.net USA, Consul General Neil Frank Ferrer said 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.”

A daughter’s pain

Londonio’s daughter Beayanca expressed the pain her family endured during her father’s unjust detainment.

“For 57 days, I watched the light vanish from my father Maximo Londionio’s eyes. […] We spent endless days and nights crying for help, crying for justice,” Beayanca said. She relayed her feeling of betrayal by the US government: “I have spent my whole life loving a country that didn’t love me back. Spent my whole life appreciating the opportunities and the freedom I had just for it to be stripped from my brown hands.”

Beayanca also expressed her disappointment in the Philippine government, saying “Even as a Philippine national — that wasn’t enough for the Philippine consulate to make a movement. What was given by them was $300, a single welfare check… and it didn’t go to our family but to the very center that was causing all this pain and suffering.”

Despite the hardships, she said she remained resolute in her fight for migrant workers: “The fight did not stop after my dad’s release, the fight will continue until justice is served!”

Crystal, on the other hand, retold the experience of her husband Max’s detention from her perspective, offering many moments of heartbreaking honesty and unwavering commitment to her community and family.

She conveyed her frustration with “both the US and Philippine governments, the labyrinth of bureaucracy and abuse within the detention system, and the overwhelming stress the experience put her through.”

But Crystal was all praise and gratitude to organizations like Tanggol Migrante: “Tanggol Migrante was able to quickly bring many people together to help assist – to help me navigate this process.[…] It’s not something you have an instruction book on. You have to quickly figure it out, as much as you want to give up, because it’s so hard mentally, physically, and emotionally. But giving up is not an option. And backing down from things that are hard and challenging are not an option.”

The difference in her opinions of Tanggol Migrante and the Philippine Consulate was stark. Concerning Tanggol Migrante, Crystal said: “I was met with comfort. I was met with sensitivity. I was met with determination.”

When discussing the Philippines consulate’s role, however, she expressed her frustration: “The many times we reached out to the Philippine consulate…I felt it was such a waste of time. I had to continue to reiterate everything. I had to offer them some solution. I had to offer them information. […] I was aware of the resources they could offer.” After the ordeal, Crystal could only ask the Philippine consulate: “Where were you? Where were you when we needed you, when he [Max] needed you?”

‘My own country didn’t fight for me’

Londonio echoed his wife’s concerns: “My own country didn’t fight for me. I had Tanggol Migrante and my union stand by me.” He said when he asked for help from the Philippine consulate, they told him coldly, “We’re in the land of the United States, not the Philippines,” neglecting their duty to heed his concerns and ensure his safety, hiding behind jurisdiction that was supposedly beyond their control.”

Londonio spoke about the connections he made with the various international migrants similarly detained, and then his abrupt move to solitary confinement due to his tattoos. He would go for hours with nothing to do, experience hunger from prolonged and irregular breaks between meals, and offered limited opportunities to shower and clean oneself up.

Londonio said he will continue to fight for the Filipino migrant community, as other Filipinos like Alma Bowman, Ligaya Jensen, and Kuya “G” remain in detention.

“As we continue to advocate for justice, accountability, and migrant rights, let’s stand with one another in unity. We, the people,” he stressed.