Green card holders who have lived and worked legally in the United States for decades are being held for days, sometimes more than a week, inside a windowless room at San Francisco International Airport, according to reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle. Customs and Border Protection's own written policy says no one should be held longer than 72 hours. Yet federal data reviewed by the Chronicle shows CBP detained more than 400 international travelers beyond that limit nationwide between January and July, including 146 lawful permanent residents. At SFO alone, 25 people were held past 72 hours, and 19 of them were transferred into ICE custody.

One of them was a 67-year-old green card holder and diabetic, detained for eight days after landing from a trip to Mexico. He had no bed, no change of clothes, and went without his insulin until his son could drive it to the airport. He described the experience to the Chronicle as psychological torture. He was eventually transferred to a detention facility and released five months later, his green card intact the whole time.

These are not undocumented border crossers. They are lawful permanent residents with the legal right to come home to the country they have lived in for decades. Holding them incommunicado, without a bed, a phone, or reliable medical care, breaks CBP's own written standards.

Customs and Border Protection must honor its 72-hour limit for every traveler, guarantee documented medical screening for anyone in its custody, and give green card holders access to legal counsel while they wait.

Sign the petition to demand CBP stop detaining lawful permanent residents beyond its own rules, before someone else pays for it with their health or their freedom.