California couple deported after 35 years in the US

Gladys Gonzales, 55, and Nelson Gonzalez, 59, were deported to Colombia after living in California for 35 years, despite having no criminal record or criminal record since arriving in the U.S. They were arrested on February 21 during a routine inspection by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), detained for three and a half weeks, and then returned to their home country on March 18.

Their three daughters, all U.S. citizens, spoke out on GoFundMe, saying their parents had never broken the law after entering the country. Under U.S. law, remaining without papers is a civil violation, not a crime, while illegally crossing the border is a misdemeanor.

Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez were accused of illegally crossing the border in 1989 in Southern California. Photo: Gonzalez family

ICE confirmed that the couple had no criminal record, but asserted that they had “exhausted all legal options to remain in the United States” after entering near San Ysidro, California, in November 1989. According to the agency, Nelson Gonzalez applied for asylum in 1992 but the case was closed in 1998 because he failed to attend an interview.

The couple agreed to leave the United States voluntarily in 2000 but then continued to try to legalize their status for more than two decades. By August 2021, they had exhausted all legal options, leading to their deportation. ICE has not said whether they were ever allowed to stay after that.

The case is part of a tough immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, which has recently used an 18th-century wartime law to deport hundreds of Venezuelans without due process and in defiance of court orders.

Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez arrived in the United States at a time when Colombia was engulfed in violence between the government, drug cartels and leftist guerrillas. For years, immigrants like them could be granted temporary asylum on humanitarian or health grounds as long as they complied with ICE’s requests. But now, even such cases are no longer tolerated.

Ngoc Anh (according to Ocregister, Independent)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/cap-vo-chong-song-o-california-bi-truc-xuat-sau-35-nam-o-my-post339862.html