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ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
WorldUnited States & Canada

ICE releases detained Filipino after ‘unreasonable failures of care’

Greggy Sorio, who lost a toe and 10kg while held by ICE in Seattle, still faces a deportation order and the threat of removal from the US

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Kuya G. Photo: Tanggol Migrante
Tribune News Service

A Filipino man awaiting the result of a deportation order has been released from Tacoma’s Northwest ICE Processing Centre following a federal court order that called the man’s detention unconstitutionally “punitive”.

US District Judge Tana Lin granted the release requested in Greggy Sorio’s habeas corpus petition on Friday, saying the Tacoma detention centre’s “unreasonable treatment” of Sorio brought about “extreme consequences” for his health.

While in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, Sorio – also known as “Kuya G” – developed a bone infection that led to healthcare providers amputating one of his toes and a portion of his foot.

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“I just want to say thank you to everyone. I’m speechless,” Sorio, 37, said during a celebration hosted by the Tanggol Migrante Movement, according to a statement from the organisation, which described Sorio’s release as “an unexpected announcement”.

Though the court order released Sorio from the Tacoma detention centre, he still faces a deportation order and the threat of removal from the US.

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Sorio moved to the United States on a green card in 2007. He is originally from Lingayen, Pangasinan, in the Philippines.

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