California couple held in ICE detention, facing deportation after 35 years in US

"[email protected]" <[email protected]> Thu, 20 Mar 2025 07:04:01 +0100 (CET)
Newsgroups alt.california.illegals, alt.politics.trump, sac.politics, talk.politics.guns, talk.politics.misc
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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/