Family Facing Forced Return to Colombia Despite Safety Concerns

A mother from the Bay Area and her two young sons were taken to a U. S. immigration office in San Francisco, where they were quickly detained and later sent back to Colombia. The case involves a 5‑year‑old boy who needs special hearing devices and a 6‑year‑old child with significant deafness. Both children had been attending classes at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont before the incident. The mother, who fled Colombia after an abusive relationship that involved a gang member, had lived in the U. S. for four years with her family. She feared that her former partner might harm them if they returned home, a claim that would normally support an asylum application. However, the family was not given the chance to present this evidence. During the two days after their arrival at the immigration office, no one could locate the family or contact them. The attorney handling the case received confusing reports that the children were held in different states—Louisiana, Washington and Phoenix—before they were finally deported. Had the attorney known their true location earlier, emergency legal action might have been possible.The older son’s severe hearing impairment was overlooked. He relies on daily assistive devices, yet he was removed from the U. S. without them. A relative had waited outside the detention center with the equipment, but it was not provided to him. The lack of necessary medical support for a child in distress raises serious ethical questions. Educators and state officials have publicly demanded that the boy be allowed to return. The California Superintendent of Public Instruction wrote a letter stating that the child’s education and basic communication needs are being denied. Similar appeals came from teachers at the school where he studied. The attorney describing the situation as “horrifying” and “undemocratic” has begun filing emergency appeals on behalf of the family. The U. S. Department of Homeland Security has not yet responded to inquiries about the case.