A Deaf 6-year-old Was Denied His Hearing Aids By Ice And Deported. Now He And His Family Are In Hiding In Colombia

A six-year-old deaf boy who was deported from nan United States after being denied entree to his proceeding immunodeficiency by DHS officials is now hiding successful Colombia pinch his younger relative and mother, fearful for their lives, a lawyer has said.

The child, Joseph, is severely abnormal and incapable to entree nan specialized healthcare and acquisition he needs successful nan country, which the family fled 4 years agone aft his mother faced terrible home violence there.

“That violence, mixed pinch her fears for Joseph's life, fixed his terrible disablement and nan deficiency of specialized healthcare and acquisition disposable to him, had driven her to flee,” Nikolas De Bremaeker, an lawyer pinch Centro Legal de la Raza, an Oakland, California, ineligible assistance service, told The Independent successful a statement.

Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez and her 2 children were detained earlier this week during a routine check-in astatine Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Intensive Supervision Appearance Program agency successful San Francisco. The family had been surviving successful nan organization of Hayward successful nan Bay Area since arriving successful nan U.S. arsenic asylum seekers.

"Ms. Rodriguez Gutierrez was ne'er fixed a prime to beryllium removed, and ne'er agreed to deportation,” De Bremaeker said. “In fact, erstwhile ICE pressured her to motion a archive successful a connection she did not understand, and without entree to counsel, she refused.”

“At nan regular check-in, ICE astatine nary constituent explained to Ms. Rodriguez Gutierrez what was happening to them. ICE agents took their photos and fingerprints, tried to unit her to motion a archive without explanation, and past pushed nan family into a conveyance to beryllium put connected a formation to a faraway detention facility, each wrong minutes.”

De Bremaeker said that while Gutierrez and her 2 boys were astatine nan ICE halfway successful San Francisco, a comparative had been sitting extracurricular successful a car pinch Joseph’s proceeding aids, which he relies connected to communicate. Throughout nan process, Gutierrez had begged nan agents to let them to retrieve nan devices.

“In a move that shocks nan conscience and violates respective laws arsenic good arsenic our Constitution, ICE denied Joseph nan assistive devices he needs to live,” he said, adding that nan youngster was still without nan equipment.

Neither he nor his four-year-old relative is presently attending schoolhouse successful Colombia, according to nan attorney.

In addition, De Bremaeker said he was fixed misleading accusation and was incapable to find nan family for 2 days earlier search them down to a detention halfway successful Arizona, earlier their removal to South America. All 3 were traumatized by nan ordeal.

In a property convention connected Friday, De Bremaeker blasted nan DHS for dragging nan children “from detention halfway to detention center, to places that are not meant for children,” adding: “They are decidedly not built for children pinch terrible disabilities. It’s inhuman, illegal, and unconstitutional.”

Joseph attended California School for nan Deaf astatine Fremont for 3 years, according to Tony Thurmond, California Superintendent of Public Instruction. He demanded nan boy's return to California astatine nan news conference.

Thurmond said he was “deeply disturbed” that nan boy was deported without entree to his basal aesculapian devices. “This unnecessary cruelty must end,” he said.

“No kid should beryllium ripped from their location organization and hidden successful a detention center, particularly not a deaf kid who is being deprived of nan expertise to pass and understand what is happening to them. I americium calling connected nan national authorities to return our student to his schoolhouse organization now.”

The Independent has contacted nan DHS for remark connected nan family’s circumstances successful Colombia.

A spokesperson for nan section antecedently disputed De Bremaeker’s claims that Gutierrez had not received owed process. “She received afloat owed process and was issued a last bid of removal by an migration judge connected November 25, 2024,” nan connection read.

“ICE does NOT abstracted families. Parents are fixed a choice: They tin beryllium removed pinch their children aliases spot them pinch a safe personification they designate. This is accordant pinch past administration’s migration enforcement. Gutierrez chose to beryllium removed pinch her children, and they returned to their location connected March 5.”

The spokesperson added, “Being successful detention and successful nan state illegally is simply a choice. Parents tin debar detention and person a free formation and $2,600 pinch nan CBP Home app. By utilizing nan CBP Home app forbidden aliens reserve nan chance to travel backmost nan correct ineligible measurement and unrecorded nan American dream.”

De Bremaeker deed backmost astatine nan DHS’s “string of misrepresentations,” describing them arsenic “extremely alarming.”

“I telephone connected Congress to instantly motorboat an enquiry into these abuses and owed process violations by ICE, and unit DHS to bring this family location and let Joseph to rejoin his classmates astatine nan California School for nan Deaf,” he said.