TORONTO – After almost a year of detention, Filipino migrant Greggy Sorio, known in the community as “Kuya G”, is finally free.
While this marks as a hard-fought victory for migrants rights groups, the fight continues as more Filipinos are still detained in ICE detention centers, enduring medical neglect, systemic human rights violations, and abandonment by the Philippine government.
The U.S. District Court of the Western District of Washington ruled in favor of Kuya G’s petition for habeas corpus, affirming that the abuse he endured in detention and the grave threats to his health constituted violations of his constitutional rights.
“Because [Greggy] is subject to punitive detention for which he has had no due process of law, the Court finds that [Greggy] is in custody in violation of the Constitution of the United States and his immediate release is required,” the court order read.
Sorio was detained at the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma while suffering from severe medical conditions. For over two months, he had bloody stools while in detention. He endured internal bleeding and a toe infection that required amputation, but was denied adequate medical care countless times by ICE and the Philippine consulate.
Tanggol Migrante Movement (TMM) and Defend Migrants Alliance (DMA) carried out the campaign to free “Kuya G” from the NWDC, lobbying legislators and collecting more than 1,500 signatures to demand Sorio’s release and access to proper medical care.
According to the group, in December 2025, hundreds across the U.S. mobilized at the last minute to stop his deportation to the Philippines just 20 minutes before his flight was set to take off.
According to TMM, while Kuya G is now free from NWDC detention, “the fight against his deportation order continues.” The migrant rights group reaffirmed its commitment to fully overturning Kuya G’s deportation order, and getting him the urgent medical treatment he needs.
The group also lambasted the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco (PCG-SF) for its inaction and failure to act with urgency on Sorio’s case. They further condemned Philippine government officials for their complicity in ICE’s abuses by publicly condoning its actions.
PCG-SF Assistance to Nationals Officer Bernice Santayana told Sorio, “It would be easier for me if you [and another NWDC-detained migrant] self-deport together.”
“People like Officer Santayana show that the Philippine government will choose what’s easy over what’s right—even if that choice means death. Kuya G was dying from the illnesses he developed in detention, and could’ve died from a deportation flight. He chose to continue fighting, and we chose to stay by his side. Officer Santayana and your supervisors—Maria Paz Cortez, Neil Ferrer, Jose Romualdez—if you had any shame left, you would resign from your posts immediately,” said Jom Dolor of Migrante USA, one of the convening organizations of TMM.
In the recent TMM Washington first anniversary celebration, keynote speaker Maximo “Kuya Max” Londonio, a former NWDC detainee and founder of Families of Filipinos in Detention, emphasized the importance of migrants fighting for their rights and protecting communities against anti-migrant attacks.
“It’s important for us to show our kababayan they are not alone. Being a migrant is not wrong. Wanting a better life is not wrong. So we must know our rights, know how to advocate for ourselves and others,” Londonio said. (RTS, RVO)
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