The media claimed that an "82-year-old grandpa" was "secretly deported" by ICE, with some reporting that he died in ICE custody.

Claims that an 82-year-old grandfather was secretly deported by ICE and died in custody are largely inaccurate; ICE and DHS have denied the deportation and death claims, with the individual reportedly alive in a hospital in Guatemala.

At a glance

Key Evidence

Verified July 22, 2025

DHS and ICE have officially denied the secret deportation and death claims regarding the 82-year-old man. Reliable reports confirm he is alive in a Guatemalan hospital after being deported following loss of his green card.independent.co.uk theguardian.com

The reporting

What the Evidence Shows

The claim involves two main assertions: first, that ICE secretly deported an 82-year-old grandfather after he lost his green card, and second, that he died while in ICE custody. Multiple media outlets initially reported on the case of Luis Leon, an 82-year-old man from Pennsylvania, with some family members mistakenly believing he had died.theguardian.com

However, official statements from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have denied that he was secretly deported or that he died in custody.independent.co.uk Instead, it was confirmed that Leon was transferred from a detention facility in Minnesota to Guatemala and is currently hospitalized there.theguardian.com The initial reports appear to have been based on unverified family claims and media rush to publish without full corroboration.

This context shows that while the man was indeed deported after losing his green card, the secrecy and death claims are misleading or false. The DHS has also publicly refuted similar false narratives about ICE actions to counter misinformation.

Therefore, the claim as presented conflates partial truths with inaccurate or unverified information.

Primary trail