Congressman Swalwell condemns deportation case involving boy taken from hearing aid
A Bay Area mother and her two children were deported after routine immigration, leaving her young son separated from his hearing aids.
Members of Congressman Eric Swalwell’s staff traveled to Colombia to return a hearing aid to a 6-year-old deaf boy who was suddenly deported with his family last week, the congressman announced.
The family’s deportation became international news after California Superintendent Tony Thurmond held a press conference demanding the 6-year-old’s return.
of The boy, his mother Leslie Rodriguez Gutierrez, 28, and his younger brother were taken into custody at the San Francisco office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement without medically necessary hearing aids on March 3, immigration attorney Nicholas de Bremaker said.
Mr. Swalwell asked the federal government to return Mr. Rodriguez-Gutierrez and his sons. To the United States.
“What happened here is not about public safety,” Swalwell said. “How does ruining the life of a 6-year-old deaf child make communities in this country safer? That’s not the case.”
Although the family was deported within days, Bremichael said he had the ability to file an emergency request and ask a federal immigration judge to halt the deportation.
“In an act that shocks the conscience and violates not only the Constitution but several laws, ICE refused to provide Joseph with the aids he needed to survive,” Bremaker said at a press conference on March 9. “In a fundamental violation of the family’s due process rights, ICE misled our team at every turn regarding the family’s whereabouts.”
A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in an emailed statement: Rodriguez Gutierrez On June 24, 2024, a federal immigration judge issued a removal order against Rodriguez-Gutierrez for “failure to comply with multiple reporting orders,” according to ICE.
The spokesperson did not comment on Bremaker’s claims that the federal government “misled” his team as they tried to locate Rodriguez-Gutierrez and her children. However, the federal government said, “The family was transported to San Francisco International Airport on March 5, flown to Alexandria, Louisiana, and then transferred to their home country of Colombia.”
Swalwell said he is working with Bremaker to file an application for humane parole. This would allow families to temporarily enter the United States for “urgent and urgent humanitarian reasons” — in this case, to seek parole because of the boy’s disability.
“Then he can go back to the school for the deaf. That’s where he belongs,” Swalwell said. “We have given sound back to our children, but what has become of our souls?”
Swalwell criticized President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration enforcement during his recent term, saying, “They promised to deport violent criminals, and now they’re deporting children with disabilities.”
“Let me be clear: If you want to deport a cartel boss, everyone here will help you pack your bags,” Swawell said. “But if you’re bringing a 6-year-old, you have to go through us.”
Swalwell announced that he is working with California Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff on new immigration legislation aimed at protecting immigrant families, in hopes of preventing families from being deported in similar ways.
Who is Leslie Rodriguez Gutierrez and what we know about her deportation
Bremarker said Rodriguez-Gutierrez was an asylum seeker from Colombia who had been in the U.S. for about four years and had no criminal record anywhere in the world.
Bremaker said she and her children were detained by federal immigration agents on March 3 as she attended a routine check-in appointment at the San Francisco office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Rodriguez-Gutierrez’s family was waiting outside the office when she and her sons were taken into custody. Bremarker said the family tried to hand over the 6-year-old boy’s hearing aids, but federal agents refused to take them back.
A federal immigration court had issued a supervision order against Rodriguez-Gutierrez, which would have prevented her deportation, her lawyer said.
Bremaker said he had wanted to file an emergency restraining order with the federal jurisdiction where his family was being held, but the federal government “consistently misled” his team and was unable to locate her.
Bremichael learned on March 6 that his family had been deported to Colombia.
Noe Padilla is a Northern California reporter for USA Today. To contact him, npadilla@usatodayco.comX Follow him at @1NoePadilla or Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social.. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow TODAY Californian on Facebook.
