ICE holds man with stage 4 cancer in detention despite permanent US residency

ICE spokesperson says Loreto Javar failed to disclose criminal conviction in Philippines when he applied for visa

A 76-year-old man holding permanent US residency and grappling with stage four prostate cancer is reportedly being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention in Tacoma, Washington .

Federal immigration officials detained Loreto Javar during his US citizenship interview in Tukwila, Washington, in June. Javar, a Filipino national, moved to the US in 1995 and has lived in the country with his wife and daughter ever since.

According to court documents reviewed by the Seattle Times and reported on by the outlet on Monday, federal officials allege that Javar was involved in an altercation in the Philippines in the 1970s that left one person dead. Javar told officials at the time of his arrest in June that he had served about three years in jail in the Philippines before being released on parole, according to the documents cited by the Seattle Times.

Javar, a retired hotel worker, has renewed his permanent residency – or green card – several times without issue since moving to the US more than 30 years ago, including most recently in December, his daughter, Daisy Javar, told the outlet.

Loreto Javar applied for US citizenship in November 2025 and has no criminal history in the country, Daisy Javar added. Although her father had never told his family about his conviction before his detention by ICE, she said: “He’s been following all the rules, paying his taxes, everything.”

In a statement to the Seattle Times, an ICE spokesperson said Javar was arrested because he had failed to disclose a criminal conviction in the Philippines when he originally applied for a visa to move to the US in 1995 and join his father, who was already living in the country as a US citizen.

The ICE spokesperson said Javar’s disclosure would have made him ineligible to enter the US at the time of his original application, adding, “He is therefore ineligible to remain in the United States now,” the Seattle Times reported.

According to Daisy Javar, her father obtained police clearance from the Philippines’ National Bureau of Investigation as part of the process of securing his US visa at the time, the outlet also reported.

The Guardian has reached out to ICE for comment.

Javar as of Tuesday was being held at the Northwest ICE processing center in Tacoma, Washington. He was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in January and is prescribed two oral medications, as well as other medications for conditions including high blood pressure, the Seattle Times reported.

Speaking to the outlet, Daisy Javar said her father’s meals were often delivered late, with lunch sometimes not served until 6pm and dinner at midnight. She said the delays have complicated his medication schedule.

Meanwhile, an online petition organized by the Filipino migrant advocacy group Tanggol Migrante Movement calling for Javar’s release said: “Before his detention, [he] was actively receiving treatment for his Stage 4 Prostate Cancer, but since being taken into ICE custody, that course of treatment has been interrupted.

“So far, he has missed two oncology appointments that occur on the 4th of every month and has recently developed a blood clot in his stomach. The appointments are crucial to conduct bloodwork and adjust his medication to prevent his cancer from further developing.”

The petition added: “Furthermore, the Seattle Philippine Consulate has yet to provide concrete support despite promising [Javar] that they would help … The Philippine government and their overseas extension, the Seattle Philippine consulate, repeatedly fails to protect their nationals when they face detention, exploitation, abuse, or deportation.”

According to the petition, the Philippines consulate visited Javar and “promised to help him and provide him with $300 for his commissary, but they have yet to fulfill that promise”.

The Guardian has contacted the Philippine embassy and consulate general in Washington DC and Seattle, respectively.

Donald Trump ’s administration has been pursuing a campaign of mass deportation throughout his second presidency. The president and his allies said the campaign would mainly target “violent criminals” and the “worst of the worst”. But a Guardian analysis of government records has found that the vast majority of people who entered deportation proceedings for the first during the first year of Trump’s second presidency had no criminal conviction.

A poll taken by PBS News, National Public Radio and Marist after immigration agents’ killings of US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis in January determined Americans largely disapproved of ICE.

Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed – 62% – said they believed ICE had gone too far in enforcing the Trump administration ’s immigration crackdown, the pollsters said.