Parents Deported After 35 Years in US, Leaving Behind 3 Citizen Children
Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez, US residents since 1989, were unexpectedly arrested and deported to Colombia after a routine immigration check-in. Despite decades of community involvement and attempts to legalize their status, they were deemed to have exhausted all legal options following a 2000 voluntary departure order, which they believed could lead to citizenship. Their deportation, after three weeks in detention, highlights the increasing strictness of current US immigration policies and the vulnerability of long-term undocumented immigrants, even those with clean records. The family is now working to rebuild their lives in Colombia, facing a ten-year bar from returning to the US.
John Q. Hosedrinker