A six-year-old deaf boy and his family were deported to Colombia after being detained during a routine immigration check san franciscoAccording to the Guardian. The move drew criticism from California officials and immigration advocates, who said the child was taken away without the assistive device he relied on to communicate.
The boy, his five-year-old brother and their mother, Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez, were detained Tuesday while reporting to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, a program that requires regular inspections, according to the Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership.
The family was then deported to Colombia.
Advocates say the six-year-old deaf child uses a cochlear implant but does not receive the assistive devices he needs to help him communicate. A relative waiting outside the building tried unsuccessfully to pass on the devices, and immigration authorities detained the family.
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California officials urge students to return
The deportations prompted California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond to call for the boy to be allowed to return so he could continue his education.
“No child should be removed from their home community and hidden in a detention center, especially a deaf child who is deprived of the ability to communicate and understand what is happening to them,” Thurmond said in a statement.
In a letter to federal authorities, Thurmond also emphasized that the student had been receiving specialized instruction designed for his language and learning needs. The boy communicates primarily through American Sign Language (ASL), and educators say exposure to this environment is critical to his development.
Lawyers raise humanitarian concerns
Immigration lawyer Nikolas De Bremaeker, managing attorney of the legal partnership representing the family, said the deportations raised serious humanitarian concerns.
“There are good humanitarian reasons why they should not be deported,” he said, according to The Guardian. “Whatever the circumstances of the deportation, humanity should prevent them from sending a six-year-old child into a life-threatening situation.”
The Gutierrez family’s legal team had difficulty determining where Gutierrez and her children were being held after their arrest, according to attorneys. Officials initially said the family could be transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana or Phoenix, Arizona, before they are eventually deported.
Concerns about education and communication
Gutierrez and her children arrived in the United States in 2022, and she filed for asylum the following year. Although a judge initially ordered her deported, she has been put into a supervision program that requires regular check-ins with immigration authorities.
teachers and school staff in california Said the boy had only recently begun to develop communication skills through American Sign Language and specialized educational support. They warned that losing these resources could affect his ability to continue learning and expressing himself.
