Lewelyn Dixon, a green card holder who immigrated to the United States from the Philippines five decades ago, is being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Washington state, her niece Emily Cristobal told Newsweek via email on Saturday.
Newsweek has reached out ICE for comment and confirmation via email on Saturday.
Why It Matters
Dixon’s reported detention comes amid an immigration crack down under the Trump administration. President Donald Trump has pledged to carry out the largest mass deportation in U.S. history, a key campaign promise that received widespread backing from his Republican base and others. While most Democrats oppose Trump’s approach, many agree on the need for immigration reform.
Trump has said that most detentions and deportations would target individuals with criminal records. However, in recent weeks, there have been multiple reports of people with valid documentation and no criminal convictions being detained for deportation.
What To Know
Cristobal told Newsweek that her 64-year-old aunt, who she calls “Aunty Lyn,” was “first detained by Customs Border Patrol on February 28 and was being held at SEA-TAC [Seattle-Tacoma International] airport.” She was returning from a trip to the Philippines. Dixon immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines when she was 14.
It is not clear when Dixon’s green card was last renewed.
On March 2, Dixon was “transferred to the Northwest ICE Detention Facility.” The Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC), which is privately owned by the GEO Group, holds over 1,500 detainees, and has been open since 2004.
Newsweek was able to locate Dixon’s information in the ICE Detainee Locator database, which confirmed she was being held at the ICE site.
Cristobal said her family has not “been informed of anything by ICE,” relating to the reasoning for her aunt’s detention. She said members of her family have visited Dixon at the center.
Dixon’s lawyer, Benjamin Osorio, told Newsweek in an email on Sunday that “she has a single conviction from 2001 that has triggered the issue.” Osorio said Dixon has a non-violent conviction for embezzlement “for which she received 30 days in a halfway house and a $6,400 fine. She was never ordered to serve any active time in a jail or prison. It was the travel that triggered the issue and if she had not traveled, she would not be removable from the United States.”
He noted that she has traveled outside of the states before and “it not been an issue because she is in a weird legal position of being both inadmissible and eligible to naturalize. So before, this was not the type of thing that you would typically see a 64-year-old woman get detained,” Osorio said.
He explained that noncitizens at ports of entry, which include airports, can be classified as a “returning resident” or an “arriving alien,” which are “subject to mandatory detention.” He added that Dixon is “not bond eligible, but ICE could choose to parole her. However, parole is pretty much dead these days.”
Meanwhile, Cristobal works as an office manager for Hawaii state Representative Tina Nakada Grandinetti. On Friday, the state legislator spoke in support of a local immigration-related bill and highlighted Dixon’s story.
Speaking in support of SB816, to establish a program to provide legal representation for individuals facing immigration-related court proceedings, Grandinetti said Dixon “is a Green Card holder, a permanent resident who is legally allowed to live in the United States.”
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) says that a green card holder has the right to live permanently in the U.S. provided they do not commit any actions that “would make you removable under immigration law.” This includes breaking laws and not filing taxes.
If visa or green card holders are found to be violating immigration rules or U.S. law, they can face deportation or removal.
In a social media post highlighting her speech, Grandinetti noted that Dixon’s “story is not unique. It’s part of a broader attack on immigrants— an attack on our families, our friends, and our community as a whole.”
A spokesperson for University of Washington Medicine told Newsweek: “We can confirm that Lewelyn Dixon is currently employed by the University of Washington. We do not have further detailed information at this time.”
Earlier this month, Palestinian protester Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent resident now fighting deportation, brought mass attention to the rights of green card holders and students. He is currently held in Louisiana after being arrested at his Columbia University-owned residence in New York City on March 8.
JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images
What People Are Saying
David Leopold, an immigration attorney at UB Greensfelder in Ohio, previously told Newsweek: “I feel like anxiety is higher. I think what people have realized over the last weeks and days is that immigration status in the United States can be challenged, it can be revoked, and there can be serious consequences.”
Eliss Taub, a partner at immigration law firm Siskind Susser, previously told Newsweek: “There’s a reason why somebody would want a green card versus to be here on a temporary visa because it is lawful permanent residence, it gives you the ability to live and work permanently in the United States. But that said, it is not citizenship.”
What Happens Next?
Cristobal said Dixon’s earliest scheduled hearing is set for July 17 at 2:30 p.m.
Osorio also told Newsweek on Sunday that he is “pushing for an earlier hearing if something opens up” and is “concerned about how long she will be detained and what that will do to her employment.”
Update 3/23/25, 10:35 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional comment from Osorio.
Update 3/23/25, 10:30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional comment from Osorio.
Update 3/23/25, 9:10 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from UW Medicine and Osorio.
