ICE detains Percy Lapid’s son in California

Law enforcement officers stand amid smoke from a smoke grenade released to disperse demonstrators in front of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Portland, Oregon, on October 4, 2025.

REUTERS

Mark Mabasa applied for asylum before new policies targeting asylum seekers were announced, and his uncle argues that he is working honestly to support his family

AT A GLANCE

• Mark Mabasa, son of slain journalist Percy Lapid, has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in California.
• Mabasa's family received death threats following Lapid's assassination, and concerns have been raised by the US embassy regarding their safety.

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MANILA, Philippines – US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have detained Mark Louis Santiago Mabasa, son of slain Filipino journalist Percy Lapid, his uncle Roy Mabasa confirmed on Tuesday, September 29.

In an exchange with Rappler, Mabasa said he is still awaiting further details. 

“Yup, confirmed. I am waiting for details,” the older Mabasa, also a journalist, told Rappler. 

The ICE website said he is detained at the Ice Processing Center in Adelanto, California. There was no other information on the website under status of case.

Mabasa said Mark arrived in the United States in February 2023, a few months after still unknown gunmen killed Lapid near his home in Paranaque on October 3, 2022.

It is not clear when Mark applied for asylum. But Mabasa said it was way before US President Donald Trump bared a new policy targeting asylum seekers, claiming economic migrants have been abusing the process.

What is clear is that in the weeks and months following Lapid’s assassination, his family, including Mark and Roy, received death threats.

The US embassy was among the foreign government representatives that expressed grave concern over Lapid’s murder and the threats against his kin.

Authorities have tagged former Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Batnag as alleged mastermind in Lapid’s killing. 

The former cop and his co-accused remain at large, although the government a few months back said he was among the targets of a manhunt.

Filipino migrants rights advocates, who asked to remain anonymous for now, said he was detained on September 21 after arriving at the Los Angeles International Airport from a gig in Chicago. 

Lapid’s son is a singer-actor and part of the touring Beks Battalion’s Laff Control Project. His family is supposedly based a few hours from LA.

“I don’t see anything wrong with Mark working honestly and supporting himself and his family, rather than becoming a burden on taxpayers,” his uncle said.

“More importantly, that Trump policy came much later, after he had already filed his asylum application. That timeline matters,” Mabasa added.

Migrants rights advocates said after asylum applicants file their documents, they can apply for temporary work permits after 150 days. Approval by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (UPCIS) will take 180 days from the submission of complete asylum papers. 

The American Immigration Council reported on July 26 that work permits issued after December 4, 2025 have been shortened to 18 months from the previous 5-year work permits. Permits issued before December 2025 are valid for five years. – Rappler.com