Couple Deported To Colombia After 35 Years In US, Shocked Daughters Seek Support To Rebuild Lives

Last Updated:March 26, 2025, 09:55 IST

A Colombian couple living in the US since 1989 was deported, leaving their daughters devastated. They took to a fund raising website and requested for money for help their parents resettle in Columbia.

Couple, living in the US since 35 years, deported to Columbia (Photo: GoFundMe)

A couple from Columbia, who had been settled in the United States for the past 35 years, has faced deportation. The couple has three daughters, all raised in California, and has recently welcomed a grandchild.

The development caught the attention of netizens after their daughters posted a message on GoFundMe, requesting for donations to cover their legal expenses to fight the deportation process and if unsuccessful, rebuild their lives in Columbia.

In their post, the daughters mentioned, “With heavy hearts, we reach out to you in a time of unimaginable grief. Our beloved parents, Gladys and Nelson, who have called the U.S. home for 35 years, were unjustly detained during their routine check-in on Friday, February 21st."

“They have never broken the law, never missed an appointment, and this sudden occurrence has left us in shock," the post read.

“For nearly four decades, they have built a life here—raising three daughters, giving back to their community, and recently welcoming their first grandchild. Now, they are being treated as criminals, held in detention centers, and facing deportation," the daughters wrote.

“This cruel and unjust situation has shattered our family emotionally and financially. Every day they remain detained is another stolen from their family, community, and their home," they added.

We are asking for your generosity to help us cover legal expenses to fight for their freedom, support them as they rebuild their lives in Colombia if deportation cannot be stopped, settle their affairs after decades of calling this country home."

“Our parents are kind, selfless people who have always put others before themselves. They love Jesus deeply, and we believe in His power to bring justice. No one deserves to endure this," the daughters mentioned in their post.

According to a report with CNN, the couple volunteered at food pantries during the Covid-19 pandemic and had checked in at an immigration court in Santa Ana last month.

However, the couple faced arrest and were handcuffed during their appointment. They were later put in federal custody, where they spent three weeks before being deported to Colombia, the report claimed.

It also quoted Monica Crooms, an Orange County-based immigration attorney who started working with the couple in 2018, as saying that the couple would have been given time to get their affairs in order and say goodbye to their daughters and grandchild, but that did not happen.

LIVING WITHOUT AUTHORISATION SINCE 1989

Quoting a statement by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the report claimed that the couple had come to the United States without authorisation in 1989.

They had no visas when they arrived, but were granted permission to apply for asylum. The couple was fleeing crime in their native Colombia, according to Crooms and their daughter Stephanie, the report stated.

In 2000, the immigration court found no legal reason that would allow Gladys and Nelson to stay in the United States and they were issued a voluntary departure order, which gives people a certain amount of time to leave the country at their own expense to avoid a deportation order.

The Gonzalezes did not plan to leave the United States after the order was issued, according to Crooms, who said the couple’s attorney at the time misled them that the order could be appealed and possibly lead to eventual legalisation.

According to the report, for two decades, the couple remained under an order of supervision. However, their deportation officer did not push for them to depart until 2018.

According to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, those living illegally in the country can take legal steps to avoid removal.

“However, once they have exhausted all due process and appeals, the aliens remain subject to a final order of removal from an immigration judge and ICE must carry out that order," the report quoted the agency as saying.

News world Couple Deported To Colombia After 35 Years In US, Shocked Daughters Seek Support To Rebuild Lives