Congresista de California pide devolver a familia deportada a Colombia
Key Takeaways
- Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) is urging Congress and DHS to facilitate the return of Leslie Rodríguez Gutiérrez and her two children, reportedly deported to Colombia after an ICE appointment in San Francisco.
- The family’s attorney alleges ICE coerced Rodríguez into signing removal papers she did not understand and separated a 6-year-old deaf child from his hearing device.
- DHS stated Rodríguez had a 2024 final order of removal and was offered the chance to depart with her children.
- Swalwell is seeking congressional hearings into alleged ICE abuses and due process violations.
- The case highlights risks for noncitizens with final removal orders attending routine ICE check-ins and the limited, discretionary pathways for return.
The case and competing accounts
A Bay Area lawmaker is pressing the federal government to bring back a Colombian mother and her two children who were deported last week, it has been reported. Rep. Eric Swalwell says Leslie Rodríguez Gutiérrez was arrested at a San Francisco immigration office after being told she only needed to update photographs, then removed to Colombia with her children, including Joseph, 6, who is deaf. Her attorney, Nikolas de Bremaeker, alleges ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) coerced Rodríguez to sign removal documents she did not understand and denied the child access to needed assistive devices. In response, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Rodríguez had a 2024 final removal order and that she was offered the opportunity to be deported with her children. Swalwell also claimed his staff delivered hearing equipment to the child in Colombia.
What Congress and DHS could do next
Swalwell is calling for oversight hearings into alleged ICE abuses and due process failures—core fairness protections in law—during arrests and removals. While Congress cannot itself reverse an individual removal, lawmakers can press DHS leadership and ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) to review the case, open civil rights investigations, and, in rare circumstances, consider facilitating return. DHS has limited authority to parole individuals into the United States on urgent humanitarian grounds or significant public benefit under INA § 212(d)(5). Separately, private immigration bills can offer case-specific relief, though they are uncommon and seldom enacted.
What this means for families with final orders
For noncitizens with a “final order of removal” (a conclusive deportation order issued by an immigration judge and no longer under appeal), ICE can execute that order at any time, including during routine check-ins under an Order of Supervision. Individuals in this position may seek a stay of removal (often via Form I-246 with ICE) and can file motions to reopen with the immigration court or Board of Immigration Appeals; emergency stays may be requested while such motions are pending. Language access is required by DHS policy, and noncitizens have the right to counsel at their own expense. Advocates note that people with medical needs should carry essential devices and documentation at check-ins and consider attending with counsel. If someone is removed despite pending claims or alleged errors, returns to the U.S. are rare and discretionary, typically requiring DHS intervention or court-ordered relief.
The broader stakes
The episode has quickly become a flashpoint in the long-running debate over immigration enforcement priorities—who gets targeted, when, and how. For immigrants living under supervision with old removal orders, it underscores both the legal fragility of their status and the importance of proactive legal strategies to preserve relief. For policymakers, it raises questions about oversight, language access, treatment of children and people with disabilities, and the boundaries of discretion in executing final orders.
Source: Original Article