Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez have called the United States home since 1989. Their three daughters, now grown, were all born and raised in California.
“For nearly four decades, they have built a life here — raising three daughters, giving back to their community, and recently welcoming their first grandchild,” their daughter Stephanie Gonzalez wrote on a GoFundMe page for the family. “Now, they are being treated as criminals.”
Last month, the parents checked in at an immigration court in Santa Ana, just “like they have been doing since 2000,” Stephanie wrote in an email to CNN.
But this check-in ended with a much different outcome.
The couple was arrested and handcuffed during their February 21 appointment and put in federal custody, where they spent three weeks before being deported to Colombia.
“We didn’t expect that they would be apprehended and held in custody. And again, it’s not really unique to them anymore. It’s happening across the country,” Crooms told CNN, pointing to recent immigration policy changes in the US two months into the current administration.
The Gonzalezes spent many years searching for a viable path to citizenship, paid their taxes and never had any trouble with the law, according to Crooms and their daughters.
Ideally, the couple would have been given time to get their affairs in order and say goodbye to their daughters and grandchild, according to Crooms. But that didn’t happen.
“We had to go and pick up their car from the parking lot and didn’t get to say goodbye,” Stephanie said.
Cute, however my mother legally immigrated to the US. I’m eligible for citizenship by descent in the country she came from. I’m not just moving there, I’m applying through proper channels with a formal passport application process. See the difference?
I finally get it. Because you have the privilege to do these things, it’s now okay to drop all humanity and support fascists. I knew there was something missing in my logic.
Yeah, it’s tough for most criminals to follow logic.
Please go away
Okay, so just trying to understand your point here. So question, if a person (or yourself) immigrated legally, and was a green card holder/legal citizen, you are saying they should have nothing to fear as them being deported would never happen?
This article is about a couple who didn’t have any green, gold, platinum or any other card after decades. Even for four years after getting the news. I despise the current administration and hope Cheeto has a debilitating stroke today, but that doesn’t mean I’m for illegal immigration. An no, any green card holder shouldn’t be disappeared nor college students.
Okay, and are you aware of Mahmoud Khalil the Columbia graduate and green-card holder, held in Louisiana by immigration agents.
I wish I could link to the segment on Last Week Tonight but the episode is not available on YouTube yet. I suggest if you have access to watch it
Relevant lines from that episode.
The Trump administration’s controversial arrest and attempt to deport Columbia University graduate student and pro-Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil this month prompted a viscerally personal reaction from John Oliver in this week’s monologue for Last Week Tonight.
“Maybe you feel different about the Israel-Palestine conflict than Khalil does. Maybe you don’t agree with the things that I’ve said about it,” Oliver said. “But if someone can be deported as a green card holder for speech in support of Palestine, or anything this administration objects to—that should chill you to the bone.”
Article from the Guardian for more context.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/19/mahmoud-khalil-statement
You’re not getting it. What he’s trying to articulate is that it’s okay that these things are happening, because they are not happening to him.
Question, what problem do illegal immigrants cause in your mind?
Forget the law (much like this administration does frequently) and tell us what problem this crack down is solving? What problem are these people causing, that affects your day to day life?
Criminals don’t have to directly impact you to be against them.
So it doesn’t matter to you that they had zero legal issues until this? Over 25 years, law abiding, tax paying citizens.
Just the fact they’ve been labeled illegal, that’s enough for you to agree with completely ruining their lives and family members lives?
They had decades to solve it and just fucked off instead.
Don’t think there’s a chance they had troubles with the financial aspect of it?
It’s weird how much it matters to you.