ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – An Orange County couple with no criminal history who had lived in the U.S. for 35 years were deported and are now in Colombia, according to an update from one of their three daughters on Thursday. 

What we know:

Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez of Laguna Niguel were detained on Feb. 21 during a routine immigration check-in as part of ongoing nationwide mass deportation efforts. 

While Gladys was initially granted an extension, hours later, a different agent arrested both her and Nelson. 

“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.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: OC couple scheduled to be deported to Colombia

The couple, who were included in the ongoing mass deportations, were held in a San Bernardino County detention center before being transferred to Arizona and ultimately Louisiana. They were told they would be out of the country by the end of the month and could not appeal the decision.

The backstory:

The couple arrived in the U.S. from Colombia in 1989, seeking asylum due to the dangerous conditions in their home country. 

“There was a lot of violence, a lot of drugs,” their daughter Stephanie explained. “They came here to escape that danger.”

The Gonzalezes, despite facing setbacks, continued their efforts to gain legal status. Their daughters say their parents hired attorneys who were later disbarred, but the couple remained persistent, obtaining yearly extensions on their status. 

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Nelson worked as a phlebotomist, and Gladys was a housewife. Neither had any criminal record.

“They never missed an appointment. They always showed up. They were never hiding,” said Stephanie. “They were just good people doing what they were supposed to do.”

What they’re saying:

Following their parents’ arrests, the Gonzalez daughters created a GoFundMe to help Gladys and Nelson rebuild their lives in Colombia. 

In an update posted to the official page on March 20, the daughters thanked donors for their support and confirmed their parents arrived in Colombia together.

“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. Our goal now is to help them prepare for their new lives in Colombia and do whatever we can to bring them back home in the future,” the three daughters said.

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“We never expected to receive so much generosity from kind friends, family, and strangers… Our parents deserve the world and if people wanted to give financially to help our parents, we weren’t going to say no. So again, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you.”

Big picture view:

Trump began his crackdown on immigration immediately after beginning his second term in office.

During his first week in office, Trump signed 10 executive orders on immigration and issued a slew of edicts to carry out promises of mass deportations and border security.

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Trump expanded arrest priorities to anyone in the country illegally, not just people with criminal convictions, public safety or national security threats and migrants stopped at the border.

The administration also ended a policy to avoid arrests at “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals and places of worship. It said it may deport people who entered the country legally on parole, a presidential authority that former President Joe Biden used more than any president.

It also threatened to punish “sanctuary” jurisdictions that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

Under Biden, ICE deported more than 270,000 people in a 12-month period that ended in September. That was the highest annual tally in a decade, helped by an increase in deportation flights, according to the Associated Press. The Biden administration did not use military planes.

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