A six-year-old deaf boy and his family were deported to Colombia after being detained during a routine immigration check-in in San Francisco, reported The Guardian. The move has drawn criticism from California officials and immigration advocates who say the child was removed without the assistive devices he relies on to communicate.
According to the Alameda County Immigration Legal and Education Partnership, the boy, his five-year-old brother and their mother, Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez, were taken into custody Tuesday while reporting to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office under a supervision program that requires regular check-ins.
The family was later deported to Colombia.
Advocates say the six-year-old, who is deaf and uses a cochlear implant, was not given the assistive equipment needed to help him communicate. A relative waiting outside the building attempted to pass along the devices but was unable to do so before immigration authorities detained the family.
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California officials call for student’s return
The deportation has prompted calls from Tony Thurmond, California’s superintendent of public instruction, for the boy to be allowed to return so he can continue his schooling.
“No child should be ripped from their home community and hidden in a detention center, especially not a Deaf child who is being deprived of the ability to communicate and understand what is happening to him,” Thurmond said in a statement.
In a letter to federal authorities, Thurmond also stressed that the student had been receiving specialized instruction designed for his language and learning needs. The boy primarily communicates through American Sign Language (ASL), and educators say access to that environment is essential for his development.
Lawyers cite humanitarian concerns
Immigration attorney Nikolas De Bremaeker, managing attorney at the legal partnership representing the family, said the deportation raised serious humanitarian concerns.
“They had strong humanitarian reasons why they should not be deported,” he said, per The Guardian. “Regardless of the status around deportation, humanity should stop them from sending a six-year-old into a life-threatening situation.”
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According to the lawyer, the family’s legal team struggled to determine where Gutierrez and her children were being held after their arrest. Officials initially indicated they might be transferred to detention facilities in Louisiana or Phoenix, Arizona, before the family was ultimately deported.
Concerns over education and communication
Gutierrez and her children arrived in the United States in 2022, and she filed an asylum application the following year. Although a judge initially ordered her removal, she had been placed under a supervision program that required periodic check-ins with immigration authorities.
Teachers and school staff in California say the boy had only recently begun developing communication skills through ASL and specialized educational support. They warn that losing access to those resources could affect his ability to continue learning and expressing himself.