Maximo “Kuya Max” Londonio, a 42-year-old Filipino green card holder recently freed after nearly two months in a U.S. immigration detention center, has spoken out about the abuse he suffered and the lack of meaningful help from the Philippine government during his ordeal.
Speaking at a virtual press conference attended by migrant rights advocates and journalists from around the world, Londonio and his wife, Crystal, delivered emotional accounts of the trauma he experienced while detained at the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, Washington.
Londonio, who has lived in the United States since he was 12, was arrested on May 15 upon returning from a vacation in the Philippines. While his wife and daughter, both U.S. citizens, were allowed entry, he was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and later transferred to NWDC, where he spent 27 days in solitary confinement.
“I wouldn’t want anybody to experience what I went through,” Londonio said in an Inquirer.net report, expressing gratitude to the Tanggol Migrante Network for securing his release and raising awareness of his case.
But he also criticized the Philippine government’s limited involvement. “My own country didn’t fight for me,” he said. According to Londonio, consular staff told him, “We’re in the land of the United States, not the Philippines,” when he pleaded for assistance.
Crystal, fighting back tears, echoed her husband’s frustration: “Where were you when we needed you?” She said that while advocacy groups like Tanggol Migrante offered immediate support and sensitivity, the Philippine Consulate required her to repeatedly explain the situation and even suggest solutions herself.
Their daughter, Beayanca, added a powerful voice to the family’s outcry, saying she felt betrayed by both governments. “I have spent my whole life loving a country that didn’t love me back… just for it to be stripped from my brown hands,” she said. She also revealed that the only aid given by the Philippine Consulate was a $300 welfare check—which was handed not to the family, but to the very detention center responsible for their suffering.
In a statement sent to Inquirer.net USA, Philippine Consul General Neil Frank Ferrer said they had been monitoring Londonio’s case since May 16 and were in regular contact with him and his family, in line with their duty to protect Filipino nationals.
However, rights groups like Migrante USA and the International Migrants Alliance (IMA) criticized the Consulate’s response as insufficient. Jess Roxas of IMA cited the Vienna Convention, which obliges consulates to provide swift legal and financial assistance. He contrasted Londonio’s case with that of Irish green card holder Cliona Ward, who received full consular support from Ireland.
Now free, Londonio said he will continue advocating for detained Filipino migrants, naming others who remain in custody, such as Alma Bowman and Ligaya Jensen.
“As we continue to advocate for justice, accountability, and migrant rights, let’s stand with one another in unity. We, the people,” he declared.
