The American dream ended abruptly last month for Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez, a Laguna Niguel couple deported to Colombia after 35 years of building their lives in Southern California. The pair, who raised three U.S.-born daughters, were detained during what should have been a routine check-in with immigration officials on February 21, according to Fox 11.
Their oldest daughter, Jessica, 33, described the confusion that day. Her mother called after initially receiving an extension, only to be arrested moments later when a different agent intervened. “This official was cruel,” said Stephanie, one of their three daughters. “They arrested my dad first and then called my mom in and arrested her too.”
They were put into handcuffs by their wrists and ankles and treated as criminals before getting to these detention centers,” Stephanie Gonzalez 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.
The deportation left three adult daughters—Jessica, Stephanie, and 23-year-old Gabby—plus a young grandson behind in the United States.
For decades, the Gonzalezes had diligently followed immigration protocols. Nelson worked as a phlebotomist; Gladys maintained their household. Their daughters insist their parents never missed appointments and continually pursued legal pathways to remain in the country they called home since 1989 when they fled Colombia seeking asylum from violence and drugs.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson provided a different perspective, telling The Orange County Register the couple had “exhausted all legal options to remain in the U.S. between March 2000 and August 2021,” despite numerous appeals through various immigration channels.
After their initial detention, the couple spent weeks moving through the system—first to a San Bernardino facility, then Arizona, and finally Louisiana before being deported. The experience left them traumatized but grateful to reconnect with family in Colombia who are helping them restart their lives.
“We are thankful this nightmare is over, while at the same time grieving the reality that our parents will not be coming home anytime soon,” the daughters wrote in a GoFundMe update on March 20, confirming their parents had arrived in Colombia together.
The Gonzalez family’s story reflects the broader shift in immigration enforcement priorities that now target anyone living in the country without authorization rather than focusing primarily on those with criminal records.
