ICE detains Filipino green card holder with stage 4 cancer despite decades of legal residency
A 76-year-old Filipino permanent resident with stage 4 prostate cancer is being held in ICE detention in Washington state after being arrested at his citizenship interview. His family and an advocacy group say his cancer treatment has been disrupted while in custody.
A 76-year-old Filipino national and longtime US permanent resident, Loreto Javar, is being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in Tacoma, Washington, despite battling stage four prostate cancer. He was arrested in June during a US citizenship interview in Tukwila, Washington.
Javar moved to the US in 1995 and has since lived there with his wife and daughter. According to court documents reviewed by the Seattle Times, federal officials allege Javar was involved in an altercation in the Philippines in the 1970s that resulted in a death. Javar reportedly told officials he served about three years in jail there before being released on parole.
A retired hotel worker, Javar had renewed his green card multiple times without issue, most recently in December, according to his daughter, Daisy Javar. She said he applied for US citizenship in November 2025 and has no criminal record in the United States, adding that he had always followed the rules and paid taxes.
An ICE spokesperson said Javar was detained because he failed to disclose his Philippine conviction when applying for a visa in 1995, which would have made him ineligible to enter the country at the time — and therefore, officials say, makes him ineligible to remain now. Daisy Javar said her father had obtained a police clearance from the Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation as part of his original visa process.
Javar is currently held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma. He was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in January and takes multiple medications, including for high blood pressure. His daughter said meals are often delivered late in detention, disrupting his medication schedule.
The Filipino advocacy group Tanggol Migrante Movement, which launched a petition for his release, said Javar's cancer treatment has been interrupted since detention, causing him to miss two monthly oncology appointments and develop a blood clot in his stomach. The group also criticized the Philippine consulate in Seattle for failing to provide promised support.
The case comes amid the Trump administration's broader mass deportation campaign, which a Guardian analysis found has largely targeted people without US criminal convictions, despite officials' claims of targeting violent criminals.
