Overview

• Nelson and Gladys Gonzalez, who entered the U.S. in 1989 and lived in California for 35 years, were deported to Colombia on March 18, 2025.
• The couple, who had no criminal history, had exhausted all legal avenues to remain in the U.S. by 2021, according to ICE officials.
• Their detention during a routine ICE check-in on February 21, 2025, and subsequent deportation have drawn criticism from immigrant advocates and their U.S.-citizen daughters.
• Advocates argue the case reflects a broader trend of targeting non-criminal undocumented immigrants under intensified enforcement policies.
• The Gonzalez daughters, devastated by the deportation, have raised funds to support their parents in Colombia and plan to visit them soon.