Consular assistance extended to Filipina green card holder released from detention - embassy

The Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. on Saturday welcomed the decision by a United States court to release green card holder Lewelyn Dixon from detention.

"The Embassy welcomes the decision by a United States court to grant Ms. Lewelyn Dixon’s petition for cancellation of removal and to order her release. The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco provided appropriate consular assistance and ensured that her rights were protected throughout the hearing process," it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco said its representatives were present during Dixon's hearing in Tacoma, Washington, on May 29.

"The Consulate welcomes the court’s decision granting her petition for cancellation of removal and ordering her release and joins the family and friends of Ms. Dixon in celebrating the favorable outcome of this case. After the hearing, the Consulate’s representatives were able to speak with Ms. Dixon in private and handed over to her the welfare assistance approved by the Department of Foreign Affairs," it said.

The embassy said it remains steadfast in providing consular assistance to all Filipinos regardless of their immigration status while honoring the right of the US to enforce its own domestic laws, including those on immigration.

The 64-year-old Filipina was arrested back in February by the US Customs and Border Protection at the Seattle International Airport upon returning from a vacation in the Philippines after her record showed a conviction for embezzlement in 2001.

The immigration judge's decision said that the two-decade-old conviction could not be used as a basis for deportation to the Philippines.

Dixon worked as a lab technician at the University of Washington Medical Center for nearly a decade after moving from Hawaii, where she finished high school. —VBL, GMA Integrated News