A couple who had lived in the United States for 35 years was deported by immigration authorities, shattering their California family. Gladys Gonzales, 55, and Nelson Gonzalez, 59, were taken into custody in February, according to CNN.
The undocumented couple was arrested during a routine check-in with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on February 21. They were detained for three and a half weeks before being sent back to Colombia on March 18.
Despite having no criminal record, Mr. and Mrs. Gonzales, who raised three daughters in Laguna Niguel, were deported, leaving their family heartbroken.
“They Never Missed an Appointment”
Their daughter, Stephanie Gonzalez, told CNN that her parents had faithfully appeared at immigration court in Santa Ana every year since 2000.
On a GoFundMe page, their three adult daughters—all US citizens—shared that their parents had “never broken the law, never missed an appointment.”
“For nearly four decades, they built a life here—raising three daughters, giving back to their community, and recently welcoming their first grandchild,” they wrote. “This sudden event has left us in shock.”
They expressed how their parents were “being treated as criminals, held in detention centers, and facing deportation,” which has left the family emotionally and financially devastated.
Efforts to Stay in the US
Monica Crooms, an immigration lawyer in Orange County who has represented the couple since 2018, stated that while the couple had expected to leave eventually, they had not anticipated the abrupt nature of their deportation.
Ms. Crooms and their daughters emphasized that the Gonzalezes had always paid taxes, stayed out of legal trouble, and actively sought ways to legalize their status.
According to Ms. Crooms, the couple’s deportation officer had not enforced their departure until 2018, warning them that if they couldn’t secure legal status, they would have to leave the country.
An ICE representative told The Independent that the couple had no criminal background but had exhausted all legal avenues to remain in the US.
Both entered the country without authorization in November 1989 near San Ysidro, California. In 2000, an immigration court issued a voluntary departure order, ruling that they had no valid reason to stay. However, they remained in the US beyond the given timeframe.
Voluntary departure orders allow individuals to leave the country on their own terms within a set period to avoid formal deportation, ICE explained.
