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A Laguna Niguel couple who has lived in the U.S. for 35 years is being
detained in a Louisiana immigration facility and faces deportation to
Colombia, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Gladys Gonzalez, 55, and Nelson Gonzalez, 59, originally entered the U.S. without authorization near San Ysidro in November 1989, an ICE
spokesperson said in a statement. Both were ordered to leave the country
in 2000 after an immigration judge granted them voluntary departure, ICE
said. Over the years, they pursued multiple legal avenues to stay,
including appeals to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Board
of Immigration Appeals and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, according
to ICE.
On Feb. 21, the couple was detained by ICE during a routine check-in — something they had complied with regularly, according to their family’s GoFundMe page.
An ICE spokesperson confirmed that neither Gladys Gonzalez nor Nelson
Gonzalez has a criminal record. But the couple “exhausted all legal
options to remain in the U.S. between March 2000 and August 2021,”
according to ICE, and are now in violation of U.S. immigration law.
Their detention has devastated their family, who say the couple had always followed the rules.
“They have never broken the law, never missed an appointment, and this
sudden occurrence has left us in shock,” the couple’s daughters, who were raised in the U.S., wrote in a GoFundMe fundraiser launched to cover legal costs and help the couple prepare for life in Colombia.
Every year, thousands of undocumented immigrants, including the
Gonzalezes, attend routine check-ins with ICE. This process allows
immigration officials to monitor individuals who are not considered
immediate priorities for deportation while they pursue legal avenues to
stay in the U.S.
But on Feb. 21, “they were put into handcuffs by their wrists and ankles
and treated as criminals before getting to these detention centers,”
Stephanie Gonzalez, the couple’s daughter, told KTLA. “All they said is
they extended their stay, even though every year they’ve had permission to
be here, and they’re law-abiding citizens who show up and are doing their
duty to check in with immigration and say, ‘Hey I’m here. I’m not hiding
or doing anything wrong.’ Then they just arrested them like that.”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/03/19/laguna-niguel-couple-held-in-ice- detention-facing-deportation-after-35-years-in-us/
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