An O.C. couple's sudden deportation sends shock waves: 'They have never broken the law'

Nelson and Gladys Gonzalez lived successful the United States illegally for decades, moving hard and raising a household portion regularly checking successful with Immigration and Customs Enforcement arsenic portion of an statement to stay successful the country.

But erstwhile the Laguna Niguel mates showed up for a regular check-in connected Feb. 21, they were detained and sent backmost to Colombia, according to the family’s GoFundMe page and a spokesperson for ICE.

The couple’s abrupt deportation stunned their 3 big daughters, who are American citizens.

“They person ne'er breached the law, ne'er missed an assignment and this abrupt occurrence has near america successful shock,” they wrote connected the fundraising site. “This cruel and unjust concern has shattered our household emotionally and financially.“

The ICE spokesperson confirmed that the mates had been fixed a last bid for removal, and that they had nary transgression history.

Advocates accidental the couple’s lawsuit is portion of a troubling trend: immigrants surviving successful the state without ineligible authorization, who person nary transgression history, being detained during regular check-ins and successful immoderate cases deported.

Gladys Gonzalez and Nelson Gonzalez.

(Gonzales Family)

Living successful the state illegally is simply a civilian violation, not a transgression offense, unless idiosyncratic has been deported and returns to the state without permission.

Angelica Salas, enforcement manager of the Coalition for Human Immigrant Rights, said she knows of akin cases successful Chicago, Texas and Florida, among different locations.

Immigration officials “need that optic, which is highly cruel for the radical being detained and deported,” Salas said. “The bulk of radical person not violated the instrumentality and adjacent if they did it’s for low-level things that truly doesn’t merit the punishment for the transgression they’ve committed.”

NBC 4 reported past week that Esmerlyn de Jesus Peralta, 29, an asylum seeker from the Dominican Republic surviving successful Santa Ana, was detained and is facing deportation aft showing up to what helium believed was a regular check-in with migration officials.

“I was shocked due to the fact that helium has nary transgression record, helium had his valid enactment permit, his Social Security number, helium has got a beingness here,” the man’s girlfriend, Ashely Wang, told the quality station.

During his run and astatine his inauguration, President Trump said helium would motorboat the largest wide deportation successful U.S. past and that helium would people “millions and millions of transgression aliens” who airs a menace to national information and nationalist safety.

In the archetypal 50 days of the administration, ICE made 32,809 arrests, of which astir fractional — 14,111 — were convicted criminals and astir a 3rd — 9,980 — had pending transgression charges, according to a Homeland Security statement.

But the operations besides led to the apprehension of 8,718 immigrants with nary transgression history, including the parents of a 10-year-old miss who is simply a U.S. citizen and was recovering from encephalon cancer.

Recent information obtained and reviewed by NBC 4 recovered that successful the archetypal 2 weeks of February, 41% of the 4,422 radical detained by ICE were immigrants with nary transgression history.

White House officials said that though enforcement operations are focused connected apprehending criminals, radical who person violated the country’s migration laws are besides being arrested.

The arrests rise questions astir whether the Trump medication is shifting its absorption and casting a wider nett successful an effort to conscionable President Trump’s governmental promise.

Most recently, the Miami Herald reported that Venezuelans who were deported to El Salvador had nary transgression record. Those deported included a young man who had precocious received exile status.

The administration, which has repeatedly described migrants arsenic convulsive criminals, has besides been revamping its migration enforcement system. It has enlisted the assistance of different national agencies, deputized section instrumentality enforcement officers and boosted powers of migration authorities by making it easier for them to deport radical — including those who were fixed ineligible introduction done 2 Biden-era programs.

Recently, the medication ended a declaration to supply ineligible representation to astir 26,000 migrant children, which could perchance pb to accelerated deportations.

The medication also plans to motorboat a registry requiring immigrants successful the state illegally, including children, to taxable idiosyncratic accusation and fingerprints, which could effect successful fines oregon misdemeanor charges.

When the Gonzalezes were detained successful February, their 3 daughters — Stephanie, Jessica and Gabby — created the GoFundMe leafage to rise wealth for their parents’ ineligible costs and to assistance them rebuild their lives successful Colombia. The trio raised astir $62,000.

Stephanie Gonzalez, 27, who is listed arsenic the interaction for the fundraiser, could not beryllium reached for comment.

According to a connection from ICE, the joined mates entered the state illegally successful November 1989 adjacent San Ysidro, Calif. The bureau did not accidental nether what programme the mates were allowed to stay.

The couple’s trek to the U.S., however, happened astatine a clip erstwhile Colombia was racked by equipped conflict, governmental and cause unit that resulted successful the deaths of galore Colombians, including a fashionable statesmanlike campaigner who was assassinated.

Immigration officials said Nelson Gonzalez, 59, applied for asylum successful 1992 but that his lawsuit was closed successful June 1998, erstwhile helium failed to be an interview. In the summertime of 1998, an migration justice besides recovered that Gladys Gonzalez, 55, had nary ineligible ground to stay.

The brace appeared earlier an migration justice successful March 2000 and agreed to permission the state but alternatively they sought an entreaty for each of their cases. ICE officials did not accidental if they were allowed to enactment portion they waited for their appeals to beryllium heard.

That process yet ended successful 2021, and connected Feb. 21 they were detained portion a last bid of removal was being processed, according to ICE. Several weeks later, they were enactment connected a level backmost to their autochthonal country.

The couple’s daughters told the Orange County Register, which was archetypal to study the story, that their parents had been deported.

Stephanie Gonzalez said her parents were relieved to beryllium escaped but were inactive processing the ordeal.

At slightest 2 of the sisters said they program to question to Colombia to spot their parents soon, portion a 3rd sister plans to question adjacent month.