California

Southern California couple deported after 35 years in US

Published

1 year ago

March 20, 2025

Southern California couple deported after 35 years in US

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.

SUGGESTED: Reports of fake ICE officers, immigration scams on the rise in California, officials warn

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.”

An Orange County couple with no criminal history who have lived in the U.S. for 35 years were deported to Colombia. / Family-provided photo

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.

SUGGESTED: Trump asks Supreme Court to allow birthright citizenship restrictions

“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.

SUGGESTED: Columbia student’s ICE arrest 1st ‘of many to come,’ Trump says

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.

SUGGESTED: ICE details criminal histories of mother, son arrested in El Monte after family backlash

The Source: Information for this story is from interviews with the family of Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez on March 14, 2025 and their GoFundMe page. The Associated Press contributed.

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California

California sheriff running for governor seizes over 650,000 ballots from 2025 election

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2026

Press Room

California sheriff running for governor seizes over 650,000 ballots from 2025 election

A California sheriff who is running as a Republican for governor has seized more than 650,000 ballots from last year’s election, escalating an ongoing conflict with state officials.

Chad Bianco, Riverside county’s sheriff, says he is carrying out an investigation into allegations that ballots were unlawfully cast in last year’s election that resulted in the passage of Proposition 50. The proposition redrew congressional districts to help gerrymander the state in favor of Democrats, in response to similar measures in Republican states like Texas.

Election officials and the California attorney general, Rob Bonta, have both dismissed those allegations. The discrepancy between the machine count and the final count submitted to the state is only 103 votes, according to the Riverside Record.

Bianco’s investigators obtained the ballots after serving the registrar of voters with search warrants last month, he said Friday at a press conference. A Riverside superior court judge appointed a special master to count the ballots, Bianco said.

“This investigation is simple: physically count the ballots and compare that result with the total votes recorded,” Bianco said.

Bianco has pushed the investigation for months, after a group called the Riverside Election Integrity Team, composed of local residents, contended that a discrepancy of 45,896 votes exists between the final vote count and handwritten records that tallied hand-counted ballots.

“There is no indication, anywhere in the United States, of widespread voter fraud,” Bonta said in a statement, according to the Los Angeles Times. “Counts, recounts, hand counts, audits, and court cases all support this.”

Bonta, a Democrat, called Bianco’s move unprecedented and says it is designed to sow distrust in elections.

Bianco is one of the two most prominent Republicans running in California’s crowded gubernatorial primary that includes more than half a dozen Democrats. California runs a top-two primary system that puts all candidates on the same ballot, regardless of party, and sends the two candidates who get the most voters on to the November general election.

Bonta has repeatedly sent letters to Bianco’s office over the last two months saying his staff is not qualified to conduct a recount. In one of the letters, Bonta wrote that the ballot seizure was “unacceptable” and “sets a dangerous precedent and will only sow distrust in our elections”.

California voters last year decisively passed the redistricting ballot initiative championed by Gavin Newsom, the state’s governor, in response to Donald Trump’s attempts to gerrymander new conservative seats in red states. California Republicans, joined by the Trump administration, challenged the measure, but the US supreme court denied an emergency petition to keep the new maps from moving forward.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

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California

California warns against Fresno company’s raw cheddar after multistate E. coli outbreak

Published

3 days ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

California warns against Fresno company’s raw cheddar after multistate E. coli outbreak

Saturday, March 21, 2026 11:35PM

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — The California Department of Public Health is advising consumers and businesses not to eat, serve, or sell raw cheddar cheese manufactured and distributed by Fresno-based company ‘RAW FARM.’

The products involved are “RAW FARM” block and shredded varieties from the facility located on Jameson Avenue.

The Food and Drug Administration says at least seven people total have gotten sick in Texas, California, and Florida. More than half of the illnesses are in children.

The FDA has suggested that the farm remove its raw cheese products from the market. The CDC is suggesting people consider not eating the cheese.

However, the company has declined, while also refusing to comply with a mandatory recall.

More information on the outbreak can be found on the FDA’s and CDC’s websites.

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California

I booked a bedroom and a roomette on the same overnight Amtrak train. The bedroom is worth the splurge for longer rides.

Published

3 days ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

I booked a bedroom and a roomette on the same overnight Amtrak train. The bedroom is worth the splurge for longer rides.

If you’re traveling somewhere between Chicago and San Francisco, I highly suggest making a trip of it by taking the California Zephyr, an incredibly scenic overnight Amtrak train through the American West.

I’ve ridden it twice. In January 2025, I took a 15-hour leg of the route from Denver to Salt Lake City and booked a roomette for $400. Then, in February 2026, I took the entire 53-hour journey from Chicago to Emeryville, California, and booked a bedroom for $2,200.

If you’re wondering if the bedroom was worth the upgrade, I think it depends on how long your trip is. But I’ll give you all the details so you can decide for yourself.

I’ve taken two overnight train trips aboard the California Zephyr.

A parked double-decker Amtrak train on a platform with a mountain in the background — The California Zephyr stopped at a platform in Colorado.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

The California Zephyr is a double-decker Amtrak Superliner train that runs between Chicago and Emeryville, California.

The train has coach cars with regular seating and sleeper cars with private cabin accommodations — roomettes (the lowest tier), bedrooms, and bedroom suites (two joined bedrooms). There are also larger, family-sized bedrooms and accessible bedrooms.

First, I stayed in a roomette for a 15-hour trip from Colorado to Utah.

The author sits with her feet up in an Amtrak roomette looking out a window to the left — The author relaxes in a roomette on the California Zephyr.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

For the shorter journey from Denver to Salt Lake City, I booked a roomette for $400. With two seats and two beds, the roomette sleeps up to two passengers, though I was traveling alone.

Then I booked a bedroom for a 53-hour trip from Illinois to California.

The author standing smiling in the Amtrak bedroom with a bunk bed in the background — The author enjoys a bedroom in the California Zephyr.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

I booked a bedroom for the full journey from Chicago to Emeryville for $2,200. The bedroom is roughly twice the size of a roomette and also includes a full bathroom. The bedroom also sleeps two, but again, I was traveling solo.

At 50 square feet, the bedroom was more than twice the size of the roomette.

Inside an Amtrak bedroom with two seats across from eachother in front of a wide window — Inside the bedroom accommodation.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

The bedroom had a couch and a seat facing each other, with a table between them. I appreciated having a couch for the longer trip because I could stretch out and relax during the day.

I also liked that there was a bit more floor space in the bedroom.

In the roomette, the two chairs folded down to form a lower bunk.

A composite image of two train seats converted into a bed with a blue blanket — Seats in the roomette folded down into a bed.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

The bed was cushy and wide enough to snuggle up comfortably.

In the bedroom, the couch folded down to form a cot that appeared to be slightly wider than the roomette bunk.

A composite image of the bottom bunk in the Amtrak bedroom with sheets and a blue blanket on top, and the author lying in bed looking out the window — The author rests in the lower bunk in the bedroom.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

The lower bunk in the bedroom felt more spacious than the one in the roomette.

Both rooms also had a top bunk that pulled down from the ceiling.

The author lays on the top bunk in an Amtrak bedroom. There's a couch below and a ladder on the left — The author relaxes in the bedroom’s top bunk.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

Since I had two nights in the bedroom, I spent one night in each bunk.

The bedroom had a full en suite bathroom.

A composite image of a toilet behind a shower and a sink and vanity with a storage cabinet on the right in an Amtrak bedroom — The bathroom inside the bedroom.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

Inside the bedroom, there was a sink and vanity with a built-in cabinet where I found hand towels, soaps, toilet paper, and space to store my own toiletries. The toilet and shower were in a tiny space separated by a door.

For two nights on a train, I was thankful to have my own shower.

Roomette passengers shared a bathroom and a shower with other sleeper cabin passengers.

A composite image of a glass shower door with a skyline etching on it and the inside of the shower — The shared shower in the sleeper car.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

Since I only spent 15 hours in the roomette, I didn’t mind not having a bathroom in my room. I didn’t use the shared shower; instead, I washed up once I arrived at my destination.

The bedroom had more storage space than the roomette.

A composite image of luggage storage in the roomette and bedroom — Storage in the roomette (left) and bedroom (right).

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

Each room had a mini closet with two hangers inside, as well as a shelf that appeared to be for storing luggage. In the roomette, the shelf was only large enough for my backpack, but in the bedroom, it held my carry-on suitcase.

On both trips, I also had access to shared luggage storage space in the train car.

The bedroom also had a larger mirror.

A composite image of the author in mirrors in the roomette and bedroom — The mirror in the roomette (left) and the bedroom (right).

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

Both rooms had mirrors, but the roomette mirror was shorter and thinner. So I appreciated the wide, full-length mirror in the bedroom. It wasn’t just convenient for getting ready — it also made the space feel larger.

Both bookings included meals.

Inside an empty train dining car with blue booths — Inside the dining car on the California Zephyr.

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

Passengers had the option of eating in the dining car or in their rooms.

I think I booked the right room for each trip.

A composite image of the author sitting in a seat inside an Amtrak train's roomette accommodation, looking out a window on the left, and the inside of an Amtrak bedroom with a sofa and closet on the left, a sink on the right, and a sliding door with a curtain in the middle — The author in the roomette (left) and a peek inside the bedroom (right).

Joey Hadden/Business Insider

The bedroom served me well for the two-night journey, and I would splurge on it for any Amtrak trip 24 hours or longer. I think it’s worth the added price for the extra space and full bathroom.

At the same time, I’m glad I booked the roomette for the 15-hour journey. It was a short trip compared to other overnight rides, so sacrificing some comforts and privacy to save money was a good move for me.

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