76-year-old cancer patient detained by ICE at citizenship interview, misses treatments
Sep 2, 2026·Location: Fife, WA
Country of origin: Philippines

Loreto Javar, a 76-year-old Filipino national and green card holder who has lived in Fife, Washington since 1995, was detained by ICE during his U.S. citizenship interview in Tukwila. A retired hotel worker and married father of two who raised his family in the U.S. and had renewed his residency multiple times without issue, Javar has stage 4 prostate cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease requiring multiple daily medications. ICE alleges he failed to disclose a decades-old conviction related to a fatal altercation in the Philippines when he applied for his visa in 1995, though his daughter, Daisy Javar, says he has no U.S. criminal record. He has been held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma for more than two months, missing oncology appointments due to delayed meals disrupting his medication schedule, and has developed a blood clot. Advocates with the Tanggol Migrante Movement have pressed the Philippine consulate in Seattle and pushed for his compassionate release, gathering more than 150 petition signatures. An immigration judge extended his case to September 20, which his daughter said will cause him to miss another cancer treatment appointment.
Timeline
Sources
- ICE detains 76-year-old green card holder with stage 4 cancer: Daughter
Newsweek·Aug 31, 2026·archived copy
- ICE holds man with stage 4 cancer in detention despite permanent US residency
The Guardian·Sep 1, 2026·archived copy
- Documented
- ICE kidnaps 76-year-old green card holder with stage 4 cancer at citizenship interview
- zonaintegritas.news
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