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Deaf 6-year-old deported to Colombia without hearing aids after ICE check-in

Sep 3, 2026·Location: Hayward, CA

Country of origin: Colombia

Deaf 6-year-old deported to Colombia without hearing aids after ICE check-in
Photo via Instagram

Joseph Andrey Londono Rodriguez, a six-year-old Deaf student at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, was detained by ICE along with his mother, Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez, and younger sibling during what the family believed was a routine check-in appointment in the San Francisco Bay Area. Rodriguez Gutierrez, an asylum seeker who fled domestic violence in Colombia, had lived in Hayward for four years working as a cleaner and child care worker with no criminal record. Instead of a routine visit, agents fingerprinted the family, pressured her to sign an unexplained document, and rushed them onto a deportation flight within minutes. Her attorney said she repeatedly pleaded with agents to let a relative bring Joseph's hearing aids and cochlear implants, but the devices were never provided and the family was deported without legal representation. California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and members of Congress have called for an investigation and humanitarian parole to allow the family to return so Joseph can resume school and services in American Sign Language. Joseph's case is one of more than 650 children detained by ICE in California during Trump's second term, 61% of whom were ultimately deported.

Timeline

Sep 3, 2026—Continued push by Superintendent Thurmond and Congress members for family's return
Jul 21, 2026—Case publicized; state officials and lawmakers call for investigation and humanitarian parole
Mar 3, 2026—Joseph, his mother, and sibling detained by ICE during a scheduled check-in appointment in the Bay Area
Mar 3, 2026—Family fingerprinted, pressured to sign documents, and deported to Colombia within days without hearing aids or legal counsel
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