Southern California couple deported to Colombia after 35 years in US

Hanna Kang, The Orange County Register on Mar 19, 2025

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A Laguna Niguel, California, couple who had lived in the country for 35 years was deported to Colombia on Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed.

Gladys Gonzalez, 55, and Nelson Gonzalez, 59, arrived in Colombia on Tuesday night, March 18, after spending weeks in custody.

Their daughter, Gabby Gonzalez, said the family is relieved they are no longer in detention. The couple had been detained since Feb. 21 and were held at detention centers in San Bernardino County, California, Arizona and, most recently, Louisiana.

“We’re just really happy that they’re out of the detention centers finally,” Gabby Gonzalez said.

The couple, who originally entered the U.S. without authorization near San Ysidro, California, had been ordered to leave the country in 2000 after an immigration judge granted them voluntary departure, according to an ICE spokesperson. They pursued multiple legal avenues to stay, including appeals to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Board of Immigration Appeals and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, according to ICE.

Their three daughters, Jessica, Stephanie and Gabby, are U.S. citizens.

Stephanie Gonzalez, 27, said her parents are relieved to be free but are still processing the ordeal.

“They’re feeling traumatized just from everything that’s happened. So they’re trying to process everything that they’ve experienced while also being grateful that they are out of those detention centers. It’s a lot of mixed emotions,” Stephanie Gonzalez said.

On Feb. 21, ICE detained the couple during a routine check-in — something the Gonzalezes had complied with regularly, according to their family’s GoFundMe page.

An ICE spokesperson confirmed that neither had a criminal record but said they had “exhausted all legal options to remain in the U.S. between March 2000 and August 2021” and remained in violation of immigration law.

The sisters said Nelson Gonzalez has family in Colombia who will help them settle.

And they’ve already made plans to visit. Gabby Gonzalez, 23, said she will be traveling to Colombia on Sunday with Jessica Gonzalez, 33, and her nephew. Meanwhile, Stephanie Gonzalez plans to visit next month.

“Thankfully, my dad has some family out there, which will be a good support for them while they are starting their new life,” Stephanie Gonzalez said.

She said that the three sisters now only have “each other” and are currently living with Jessica Gonzalez and her husband in Newport Beach, California.

The deportation of the Gonzalez couple comes amid broader immigration enforcement efforts under the Trump administration. While the administration has emphasized a focus on removing individuals with criminal records or pending charges, recent ICE data shows that nearly half of those detained in early February had no criminal history.

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