Filipino community advocates and workers in the United States have accused US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers of mistreating detained migrants, including Filipinos, in a series of testimonies revealed during a virtual press briefing organized by Tanggol Migrante Movement USA. ABS-CBN News reported the statements, which included accounts of physical harm, denied medical care, and alleged inaction by Philippine authorities.
Veronica Velasquez, an acute care physical therapist at LA County Hospital, shared that a Filipino patient in detention suffered serious harm after what she described as harsh enforcement methods by federal agents. “He was unnecessarily handcuffed to his hospital bed despite his physical inability to walk and he was also interrogated while in pain,” Velasquez said, calling out what she viewed as hospital leadership’s cooperation with ICE agents. She emphasized the ethical responsibility of healthcare workers to oppose such actions, stating, “We demand ICE outside of hospital, we demand ICE out of our clinics and ICE out of our healthcare system.”
Another speaker, Cora Cabellon from Tanggol Migrante in Washington, recounted the case of “Kuya G,” who was allegedly held under constant surveillance, restricted from family contact and legal counsel, and suffered severe health complications due to delayed treatment. “This is really a preventable consequence of medical violence due to delayed treatment at the hands of Northwest Detention Center,” she said, adding that the Philippine consulate only contacted him for a welfare check after public pressure.
In Indiana, the group said 71-year-old “Tita Rebecca” has been moved multiple times between detention facilities and reportedly went three months without access to vital kidney medication. Anakbayan USA representative Dee Balitaan urged Philippine authorities to ensure she undergoes a medical evaluation before any repatriation, stressing the need for her to be deemed fit to travel.
Registered nurse Jom Dolor criticized Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Romualdez for what he described as silence on the issue, claiming officials were “washing their hands of any accountability” while invoking respect for US law. He called for the Philippine government to file a diplomatic protest, particularly regarding detained Filipino cruise ship workers.
As of publication, the Philippine Consulate and the Department of Foreign Affairs have not issued a statement in response to the accusations.
