Ate Michelle Walks Free | How FILAM Community Power Stopped One Filipina’s Deportation

May 21, 2025

When Michelle, a Filipina mom of three and lawful green card holder, returned from a visit to the Philippines in February 2025, she probably expected to be greeted by her family, not detained by ICE.

Instead, she was arrested upon arrival and sent to the Bakersfield Detention Center in California. No public explanation was given. The only thing that followed was silence, confusion, and a rapid transfer to the notoriously bleak Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, reportedly due to overcrowding. There, she would sit behind bars for weeks, far from home, separated from her children, and fighting for answers in a system designed to keep her quiet.

Her full name has not been released for privacy reasons. But the woman many now call “Ate Michelle” became anything but invisible.

The moment word got out, immigrant advocacy group Tanggol Migrante stepped in. But hey weren’t the only ones. GABRIELA USA joined the call, and soon, an entire community was demanding answers. Why was a green card-holding mother, who had committed no crime, being held in detention after a routine trip home?

Supporters described Michelle as someone who never should have been there in the first place. Behind the scenes, her health was deteriorating. She was managing a benign brain tumor and pre-diabetic conditions with limited medical care and questionable food. Her story wasn’t an isolated incident. It was a snapshot of a broken system where immigrants can be detained for arbitrary reasons, with little accountability.

But Michelle’s case also became something else. A wake up call, if you will. A rallying cry. A reminder that when communities organize, things can shift. WE CAN MAKE OUR VOICES HEARD.

On April 30, Michelle appeared in court, with members of Tanggol Migrante by her side. Inside, she stood tall, answered the judge’s questions with conviction, and walked out free. Outside, the crowd was buzzing. Ate Michelle had become more than one person’s story. She was a symbol of what’s possible when people refuse to stay quiet.

This happened against a broader national backdrop of intensified immigration enforcement. As of spring 2025, ICE deportations remain very much in full effect. Under the current administration, there’s been a visible ramp-up in deportation activity, with expanded programs like 287(g) allowing local law enforcement to collaborate more directly with ICE. This has led to a rise in removals nationwide. At the same time, courts are pushing back. Judges have stepped in to halt certain deportations, particularly where due process was violated or where people were fast-tracked out of the country without legal recourse. So while ICE’s operations haven’t slowed, resistance to them is growing louder, both in the streets and in the courtroom.

There are still questions. We still don’t know why Michelle was detained. ICE hasn’t offered clarity. But the silence of institutions was drowned out by the voices of the people who showed up for her.

This isn’t a perfect ending, but it’s a powerful reminder that collective action, especially in the face of systems built to dehumanize, still works. Ate Michelle is home now here in the US where she belongs. And her story is one more reason we keep showing up.

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