ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Department of Homeland Security on Monday disputed reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained and deported an 82-year-old Allentown man.
Luis Leon, a longtime resident of Allentown, was reported missing in June by family members who said he was taken into custody after attending an immigration appointment in Philadelphia to replace his lost green card. They said they received no information on his whereabouts for weeks before learning from a relative that he was in a hospital in Guatemala, reportedly recovering from pneumonia.
DHS said there is no record of Leon appearing at any immigration office in or around Philadelphia on June 20, 2025, and denied that ICE had any involvement in his detention or deportation.
“ICE never arrested or deported Luis Leon to Guatemala. Nor does ICE ‘disappear’ people — this is a categorical lie,” DHS said in a statement.
Officials cited reporting by the Associated Press and the Guatemalan Institute of Migration, which said no one matching Leon’s name, age or nationality appeared in its records of recent deportations from the United States.
The department also said the confusion may have stemmed from a call the family received from a woman claiming to be an immigration attorney. According to DHS, the caller told the family Leon had died in ICE custody but did not explain how she learned about the case.
The case drew national attention after The Morning Call published a July 20 article including statements from Leon’s family, who believed he had been detained and deported without notice or legal representation.
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Mike McLaughlin accused the outlet of spreading misinformation.
“This was a hoax peddled by the media who rushed to press without pausing to corroborate the facts with DHS,” McLaughlin said. “This was journalistic malpractice.”
Leon’s family has not publicly responded to the DHS statement. They previously said they searched for him for weeks, contacting hospitals, detention centers and morgues. Community members and local leaders have expressed concern about the lack of communication and transparency surrounding his disappearance.
At a July 9 Lehigh County commissioners meeting, Bethlehem resident and Leon family friend Michele Downing criticized the response from authorities.
“The man has never had so much as a parking ticket. And he showed up to court. And he’s gone,” she said during public comment. “And nobody’s responsible and nobody’s asking questions and nobody can do anything and here we all sit.”
“Now that the thing we all said was gonna happen has happened to one of ours,” she added, “I’m gonna need to start having some hard questions answered about what we’re gonna do, because it’s our job — all of us — to keep Lehigh County safe. This cannot continue.”
ICE continues to deny involvement in Leon’s disappearance and said it has no record of recent enforcement actions involving him.