Hugo Freitas de Sousa, 39, a native of Terceira Island in the Azores, has returned to Lisbon, Portugal, after spending approximately six weeks in U.S. immigration detention in Tacoma, Washington state.
Sousa, who had lived in the United States for about 35 years, emigrated with his parents as a child and held permanent-resident status through a Green Card. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he returned to the Azores, where he remained for a long stay.
Reports indicate that his U.S. permanent-resident documentation subsequently expired. When Sousa attempted to enter the United States from Canada to visit his son, he was detained despite traveling with a valid authorization for short visits. His parents, siblings, and 12-year-old son live in the United States.
According to Sousa, the conditions of his confinement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) were “inhumane.” He described sleeping on what he called a yoga mattress without a pillow while the lights remained on continuously. He also said, “The food is terrible; I wouldn’t give that food to my dog,” and that “hundreds and hundreds of people from all countries” were being subjected to similar treatment.
Speaking to journalists at Lisbon airport, Sousa gave a stark account of detention. For the first four days after being detained, he was unable to contact anyone. As the detention continued without a clear timetable for his return to Portugal, he began a hunger strike that lasted nearly four days.
The Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, had confirmed in late August that it was following Sousa’s case through the Portuguese Consulate-General in San Francisco and was maintaining contact with U.S. authorities. A native of Terceira Island, his detention and deportation have drawn particular attention in the Azores.
Official figures show that at least 69 Portuguese citizens were deported from the United States in 2024, while another 56 were deported between January 1 and September 9, 2025. Of the 50 cases documented in detail by Portuguese consular authorities in 2025, 21 involved people born in the Azores. A comprehensive figure for Portuguese citizens detained or deported by ICE in 2026 has not yet been made publicly available.
PAJ/Staff
