Immigration and Customs Enforcement took Sonny Lasquite into custody at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on July 28, 2025, as he returned from a Bahamas vacation. The 44-year-old Filipino permanent resident remained detained in Georgia through late December as deportation proceedings continued over a drug conviction he resolved 13 years ago.
Customs and Border Protection flagged Lasquite’s record during passport screening at the North Carolina airport and transferred him to ICE. His 2012 federal conviction for distributing Schedule IV controlled substances made him deportable under immigration law regardless of when the case closed.
Charlotte Douglas processes international arrivals where CBP screens returning travelers against federal databases. Permanent residents with criminal records can be detained during this screening process.
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The Conviction That Resurfaced After 13 Years
Federal prosecutors in New York charged Lasquite with possessing diazepam, alprazolam, zolpidem and carisoprodol with intent to distribute between December 2010 and August 2012. Court records show he cooperated with authorities and helped identify other operation members.
Then-U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara acknowledged that cooperation during Lasquite’s September 2014 sentencing hearing. “You are, as the government points out, the only defendant who cooperated,” Bharara told the court. “You did that at some risk to yourself. I feel pretty confident that you’re not going to commit any crimes in the future.”
The judge sentenced him to time served and ordered him to pay $200. He worked as a banquet server in Las Vegas for the following 11 years with no further arrests, family members said.
Family Financial Impact and Medical Delays
His detention eliminated the family’s sole income source. His elderly mother in Las Vegas depended on his earnings for medical expenses, prescriptions and daily care.
He faced delays accessing blood pressure medication and treatment for fever at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, according to a GoFundMe campaign organized by family friend Vivian Hirano. The facility’s remote location prevented his mother from visiting.
“His detention has been especially hard on our elderly mother, whose health is declining under the weight of this stress,” the campaign states. The fundraiser raised $18,243 from 117 donors, with a November update indicating the family hired two attorneys as legal costs exceeded initial estimates.
Deportation Law for Drug Convictions
Federal law allows deportation of permanent residents for controlled substance convictions. The only exception is possessing 30 grams or less of marijuana. Immigration attorney Rosanna Berardi told Newsweek in August that these detentions occur regularly regardless of how much time has passed.
Record Detention Numbers in 2025
ICE held more than 65,000 people nationwide by November 2025, the highest total since the agency’s creation in 2003. Stewart Detention Center’s population increased from 1,500 in January to over 1,800 by summer. The private facility, operated by CoreCivic, recorded 13 deaths since 2006.
Data from UC Berkeley’s Deportation Data Project show 73 percent of ICE detainees nationwide have no criminal convictions, making Lasquite part of a minority detained for past offenses. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed 38 Filipino nationals remain in immigration custody across the United States. Lasquite’s case mirrors other 2025 airport detentions of Filipino permanent residents with resolved criminal cases, including Lewelyn Dixon, 64, who spent three months in custody before a judge blocked her deportation.
Legal Options Limited
Lasquite’s attorneys filed motions in immigration court arguing he should not be deported based on his cooperation with prosecutors, completion of his sentence and lack of legal issues for over a decade. Federal law provides few defenses for immigrants with drug convictions, and most relief options available in other deportation cases are barred for controlled substance offenses.
As of December 28, 2025, Lasquite was still in ICE custody as his case progressed through immigration court. The family continued fundraising while awaiting a court decision. Immigration cases with drug convictions typically take months to resolve. Families like Lasquite’s face extended uncertainty over whether someone who served their time and rebuilt their life will remain in the country or face deportation to the Philippines.
Based on federal court records, ICE data, family statements and immigration attorney interviews.
