Trending Now - Deported Family Includes Deaf Boy Lacking Assistive Devices

WHO:

Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez, mother of two children

Tony Thurmond, California State Superintendent

Nikolas De Bremaeker, managing attorney for Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership (ACILEP)

Markwayne Mullin, newly appointed Department of Homeland Security Secretary

California School for the Deaf, Fremont

WHAT:

Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez and her two sons, aged 5 and 6, were detained and deported to Colombia on March 5, 2026.

The 6-year-old boy is deaf and was not provided with his assistive devices during deportation.

Gutierrez filed an asylum application in 2023, which was rejected by a judge who ordered her removal.

Gutierrez was placed on a supervision order requiring monthly check-ins at ICE’s Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (Isap).

The Department of Homeland Security stated that Gutierrez was arrested on March 3, 2026, and had a final order of removal issued on November 25, 2024.

WHERE:

San Francisco, California, where the family was detained during a check-in at an ICE office.

Colombia, the country to which the family was deported.

California School for the Deaf, Fremont, where the 6-year-old boy attended school.

WHEN:

The family was detained on March 3, 2026, and deported on March 5, 2026.

Gutierrez entered the United States in 2022 and filed an asylum application in 2023.

The final order of removal was issued on November 25, 2024.

WHY:

Gutierrez and her family were seeking asylum in the United States due to conditions in their home country.

Tony Thurmond stated that the deportation of the deaf child without his assistive devices is inhumane and illegal.

HOW:

The family was detained during a routine immigration check-in at ICE’s Isap program.

Immigration attorneys attempted to file habeas petitions to contest the deportation but faced challenges due to lack of information from ICE.

(UPDATED March 8, 2026 01:22 UTC)

Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez and her two young sons were detained during a routine immigration check-in in San Francisco and subsequently deported to Colombia on March 5, 2026, despite her asylum application being filed in 2023 and rejected by a judge. Notably, her 6-year-old son, who is deaf, was not provided with his necessary assistive devices during the deportation, prompting California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond to call the situation inhumane and illegal. Immigration attorneys attempted to contest the deportation through habeas petitions but encountered difficulties due to insufficient information from ICE.