Case of Filipina grandma raises alarms about prison conditions

Rebecca Pinyerd was wheeled to her gate at O’Hare International Airport on January 2, scheduled to be deported on a 14-hour flight to Manila. At 70, with severe kidney disease, thyroid issues, and uncontrolled blood pressure, advocates feared the flight would kill her.

So they called United Airlines directly.

The airline cancelled the deportation flight. Pinyerd was sent back to Clay County Jail in Indiana, where she remains detained. But for now, she’s not being deported.

The stopped deportation came after a nationwide mobilization. On December 30, Tanggol Migrante Chicago organized a call with over 300 healthcare workers, faith leaders, and community members, the Manila Times reported.

“Putting Tita Rebecca on a long flight would have exacerbated her conditions and put her life at risk,” John Emiliano of Tanggol Migrante Chicago told Inquirer.net.

Pinyerd has a green card and has lived in the US for over 40 years. She used to get up at 4 in the morning to walk. She went to church on Sundays, donated what she could. With her husband in North Carolina, she was rebuilding a life that had once fallen apart.

More than two decades ago, Pinyerd was arrested on drug charges and spent 19 years in prison, CBS Chicago reported. After her release, she was told to check in with the Department of Homeland Security once a year.

In March, she showed up for that annual check in with her documents. Officers detained her on the spot.

“As soon as they grabbed the documents from her, they said that she was going to be detained,” her daughter April Lowe told CBS News.

Under a 1996 immigration law, green card holders can be deported for certain criminal convictions, even decades after they’ve served their time.

By December, Pinyerd’s health had collapsed during nine months of detention. Emiliano said her health worsened due to alleged medical neglect.

This situation worked under a 1996 law, where green card holders can still be deported for certain convictions, even decades later.

Filipino detainees nationwide have reported severe medical neglect, according to a Senate investigation by Senator Jon Ossoff. The report documented over 80 cases of neglect from more than 500 accounts. One detainee had a heart attack after days of ignored chest pain. A Homeland Security staff member told The Inquirer that “ambulances have to come almost every day.”

The Philippine Consulate says Greggy Valerio Sorio lost a toe to amputation while at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. He reported bloody stools and pain for months. Staff prescribed laxatives, worsening his internal bleeding, according to advocates. He lost 20 pounds before being hospitalized.

Detainees reported maggots in food, raw chicken, and 12-hour gaps between meals. At Tacoma, seven suspected tuberculosis cases emerged from poor ventilation and overcrowding, advocates say.

They allege the Philippine government has done little. “We made monthly calls and demands to the Philippine Consulate embassy to intervene,” Cora Cabellon of the Malaya Movement Tacoma told Bulatlat. “But unfortunately, we were met with silence.”

The consulate met with Pinyerd’s family in December after they traveled from Kentucky. They raised concerns about medical abuse and sexual harassment in custody.

Pinyerd’s deportation is on hold. She remains in detention. Tanggol Migrante says they’ll keep fighting.

“We shall keep fighting for Tita Rebecca to be treated with the care and respect she deserves,” the group said, “and until she is free.”