Latest news with #Madriaga
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
ICE releases health worker arrested at airport despite living in the U.S. legally for 50 years
After three months in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, a Filipino green-card holder who had been arrested at Seattle-Tacoma Airport has finally gone home. Lewelyn Dixon, a 64-year-old University of Washington lab technician, was released on Thursday from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, after a judge ruled that she does not qualify for deportation. Dixon, who's had legal permanent status in the U.S. for 50 years, had been in ICE custody since late February, when she was detained after coming back from a visit to the Philippines. Outside the detention facility, Dixon thanked a crowd of supporters and spoke about her experience and the conditions in the facility. 'It was horrific; it was awful, it is crowded -- super crowded, they release maybe nine, bring back seven, release one, they bring three,' she said, according to local NBC affiliate King5. Dixon's niece Lani Madriaga told NBC News that in the hours since her release, she's been spending time with loved ones. 'Last night, we had dinner together as a family and just chatted,' Madriaga said on Friday. 'She's just getting readjusted.' Benjamin Osorio, Dixon's attorney, previously told NBC News that a decades-old embezzlement conviction likely caught the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the airport, triggering her detention. Dixon had been a vault teller and operations supervisor at Washington Mutual Bank at the time and 'removed cash from the vault on eight separate occasions' without the bank's authorization, according to her plea agreement. She removed a total of $6,460. While Dixon pleaded guilty to the nonviolent offense in 2000, she was ordered to pay restitution and spend 30 days in a halfway house, court documents show. By 2019, she completed her payments. Dixon has been in the U.S. since she was a teenager and has long been eligible for citizenship, but she promised her father that she would maintain her Filipino nationality so that she could retain property in her native country. However, Osorio said, Dixon likely did not understand the risk involved with staying on a green card. Madriaga said the ordeal has been emotional for her aunt, but it's also given her a renewed purpose in helping detainees. During her time in ICE custody, Dixon attempted to help others navigate the immigration and court system, Madriaga said. Dixon plans on staying in touch with the detainees at the Tacoma facility, with whom she said she grew close. 'I don't think it's going to stop her from helping others, even though she's been out,' the niece said. The case has been shocking for her family, particularly because Dixon had kept her conviction a secret from them. 'We don't think her any different after we found out about her conviction,' Madriaga said. 'She turned it all around and … she really worked hard and really focused on health care, where it's really about helping the community.' In fact, Madriaga said, Dixon plans to head back to work soon. In the meantime, Dixon's first priority is obtaining her citizenship. Dixon is among several other green-card holders who have been detained amid the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration. Earlier this month, Maximo Londonio, 42, was also detained at an airport in Seattle after coming back from vacation with his family. Londonio, a green-card holder, was likely detained due to previous nonviolent convictions, his family members believe. Another legal permanent resident, Fabian Schmidt, was detained in March after being arrested at the Boston Logan International Airport. The German national, who had a previous misdemeanor marijuana conviction, was released in May, after he filed a motion to terminate the immigration proceedings. This article was originally published on
NBC News
3 days ago
- NBC News
ICE releases health worker arrested at airport despite living in the U.S. legally for 50 years
After three months in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, a Filipino green-card holder who had been arrested at Seattle-Tacoma Airport has finally gone home. Lewelyn Dixon, a 64-year-old University of Washington lab technician, was released on Thursday from the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, after a judge ruled that she does not qualify for deportation. Dixon, who's had legal permanent status in the U.S. for 50 years, had been in ICE custody since late February, when she was detained after coming back from a visit to the Philippines. Outside the detention facility, Dixon thanked a crowd of supporters and spoke about her experience and the conditions in the facility. 'It was horrific; it was awful, it is crowded -- super crowded, they release maybe nine, bring back seven, release one, they bring three,' she said, according to local NBC affiliate King5. Dixon's niece Lani Madriaga told NBC News that in the hours since her release, she's been spending time with loved ones. 'Last night, we had dinner together as a family and just chatted,' Madriaga said on Friday. 'She's just getting readjusted.' Benjamin Osorio, Dixon's attorney, previously told NBC News that a decades-old embezzlement conviction likely caught the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the airport, triggering her detention. Dixon had been a vault teller and operations supervisor at Washington Mutual Bank at the time and 'removed cash from the vault on eight separate occasions' without the bank's authorization, according to her plea agreement. She removed a total of $6,460. While Dixon pleaded guilty to the nonviolent offense in 2000, she was ordered to pay restitution and spend 30 days in a halfway house, court documents show. By 2019, she completed her payments. Dixon has been in the U.S. since she was a teenager and has long been eligible for citizenship, but she promised her father that she would maintain her Filipino nationality so that she could retain property in her native country. However, Osorio said, Dixon likely did not understand the risk involved with staying on a green card. Madriaga said the ordeal has been emotional for her aunt, but it's also given her a renewed purpose in helping detainees. During her time in ICE custody, Dixon attempted to help others navigate the immigration and court system, Madriaga said. Dixon plans on staying in touch with the detainees at the Tacoma facility, with whom she said she grew close. 'I don't think it's going to stop her from helping others, even though she's been out,' the niece said. The case has been shocking for her family, particularly because Dixon had kept her conviction a secret from them. 'We don't think her any different after we found out about her conviction,' Madriaga said. 'She turned it all around and … she really worked hard and really focused on health care, where it's really about helping the community.' In fact, Madriaga said, Dixon plans to head back to work soon. In the meantime, Dixon's first priority is obtaining her citizenship. Dixon is among several other green-card holders who have been detained amid the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration. Earlier this month, Maximo Londonio, 42, was also detained at an airport in Seattle after coming back from vacation with his family. Londonio, a green-card holder, was likely detained due to previous nonviolent convictions, his family members believe. Another legal permanent resident, Fabian Schmidt, was detained in March after being arrested at the Boston Logan International Airport. The German national, who had a previous misdemeanor marijuana conviction, was released in May, after he filed a motion to terminate the immigration proceedings.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘Aunty Lynn is coming home.' Pierce County woman detained by ICE to be released
A Tacoma-based immigration judge ruled Thursday that a Pierce County resident who had been detained by ICE after living in the United States as a permanent resident for 50 years should not be deported to the Philippines. Relatives of 64-year-old Lewelyn Dixon cried and clapped after Judge Tammy Fitting made that ruling in a courtroom within the Northwest ICE Processing Center, where Dixon has been detained for months. Dixon, wearing a yellow and white uniform, told reporters her time in the facility had been 'hell,' before she went back into the bowels of the federal immigration lockup to be processed and released. Outside, one of Dixon's nieces, Melania Madriaga, said Thursday's hearing was nerve wracking, and hearing the judge rule that Dixon could remain in the United States made her emotional. 'It's painful, the fact that we have to go through this,' Madriaga said. Madriaga traveled from her home in Hawaii to be at her aunt's immigration hearing. She and about 15 other people were in attendance. Outside the facility, more than a hundred people rallied to support them. Madriaga said she'd asked organizers to play music by Bruno Mars when Dixon was released. She said her aunt bought concert tickets for this week's show in Las Vegas, Nevada before she was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. After the hearing, a person told the crowd of people gathered in the street, 'Aunty Lynn is coming home.' The news drew cheers and applause. Some people beat on drums or waved flags. Dixon was expected to be released by 5 p.m. Dixon, a lab technician for the University of Washington, was detained at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after she returned to the United States on Feb. 28 from a trip to the Philippines. Her attorney, Benjamin Osorio, has said she was detained due to a nonviolent criminal conviction from 2001. Dixon immigrated to Hawaii from the Philippines at age 14 and moved to Washington in the 1990s, according to family members. She's been employed with UW Medicine since 2015.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Yahoo
Family calls for release of woman legally in U.S. for 50 years and now detained by ICE
After a University of Washington lab technician and green card holder was recently detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, her family is speaking out. Lewelyn Dixon, 64, who's had legal permanent status in the U.S. for 50 years, was arrested at the airport in Seattle and placed into ICE custody after coming back from a trip to her native Philippines in late February. She has a hearing scheduled for July, but her loved ones are calling for her release, telling NBC News that she is the glue that holds the family together. 'She's always been our go-to,' said Dixon's niece Lani Madriaga, who described her as a mother figure. 'She's always been that.' ICE did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment. Dixon is being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, Madriaga said, where she's been socializing with the other detainees, translating and helping them communicate with their attorneys amid the wait before her hearing. Dixon's attorney, Benjamin Osorio, said that U.S. Customs and Border Protection likely spotted a decades-old embezzlement conviction on her record upon her return, which prompted the detention. Dixon, who pleaded guilty to the nonviolent offense in 2000, was ordered to pay restitution and spend 30 days in a halfway house, court documents show. In 2019, she finished paying restitution. Dixon had been a vault teller and operations supervisor at Washington Mutual Bank, where she 'removed cash from the vault on eight separate occasions' without the bank's authorization, according to her plea agreement. In total, she removed $6,460. Dixon never told the family about the conviction, Madriaga said, who called it her aunt's 'darkest secret.' 'If she hadn't traveled, it wouldn't have triggered this,' Osorio said. And though Dixon has also long been eligible for U.S. citizenship, Osorio said, she promised her father that she would keep her Filipino status so that she could retain property and land back in the Philippines. 'She probably did not understand the risk,' Osorio said. 'Otherwise, she probably would have … naturalized before she traveled.'Dixon came to the U.S. when she was 14, immediately helping Madriaga and her siblings, who are also immigrants, settle into life in their new country. 'We stayed together. We slept in the same room. We had a bunk bed and an extra bed, and we stayed in that room during our school years,' Madriaga, 59, said. 'She was very independent, and she was a good role model, making sure to have hard earned work.' Later on, when Madriaga's sister went through a divorce, becoming a single mom, Dixon moved to Washington state so she could be there for the children and to pitch in with rent. Madriaga went through her own divorce years later and said Dixon was also there to help with the kids. 'That was hard. She made sure she took care of my youngest one, because she was still a minor,' Madriaga said. 'She's like a second mom to her.' At the lab, Dixon is a dedicated worker, Madriaga said. She had even scheduled herself to work a shift the night she was to get off the flight, she added. Dixon was on the cusp of her 10-year anniversary at work, during which her pension would vest. Her family members are now worried she'll lose both her job and her pension after being away for so long. Susan Gregg, a spokesperson at UW Medicine, would not elaborate on Dixon's case, but said that she had worked as a lab technician at the hospital since 2015. 'UW Medicine is dedicated to the well-being of all employees and hopes Lewelyn receives due process in a timely manner,' Gregg said. Madriaga said that the family is speaking out for their aunt and also hoping to help others protect themselves from a similar fate. 'To the people who avoided becoming a citizen like my aunt, who thought that she was protected: No. Go get your citizenship,' Madriaga article was originally published on
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
UW lab technician detained at ICE Processing Center in Tacoma
The Brief A Pierce County woman who immigrated to the United States more than 50 years ago has spent nearly a month at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. Lewelyn Dixon's family says she was returning from a trip to the Philippines when she was taken aside by Customs and Border Protection at Seatac Airport on Feb. 28. TACOMA, Wash. - A Pierce County woman who immigrated to the United States more than 50 years ago has spent nearly a month at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. Lewelyn Dixon, 64, is a lawful permanent resident of the United States and her family says she was returning from a trip to the Philippines when she was taken aside by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at Seatac Airport on Feb. 28. "We were never provided any information as to why she was there," said Lani Madriaga, Dixon's niece. Madriaga says her sister was traveling with Dixon at the time of her detainment and waited for hours after she was taken by CBP. Dixon's family says they didn't know what happened to Dixon until they received a phone call from ICE in Tacoma. "She's been here over 50 plus years. You would think that being a permanent resident is protected," said Madriaga. After speaking with multiple lawyers, Madriaga says an immigration attorney told them Dixon had an embezzlement conviction in 2001. Madriaga doesn't believe her aunt has had any other issues and has entered the healthcare field where she's been a lab technician for the University of Washington since 2015. "I don't think her job will be protected, which was our biggest worry," said Madriaga. Madriaga says Dixon had a hearing on March 11, but won't have a court date until July. The Source Information in this story is from FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews. Deputies shoot suspect in Spanaway, WA 'Happy Face' serial killer nearly confessed brutal murders to WA teen daughter Police investigate DV shooting at Redmond, WA, apartment complex Two teens arrested after shooting at father, son near Kitsap Mall in WA Bobcat or cougar? Magnolia residents report close call with wild cat To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter. Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national coverage, plus 24/7 streaming coverage from across the nation.
