ICE Deports Deaf Six-Year-Old and His Mother Mid-Asylum Process, Leaving Him Without the Devices He Needs to Hear

A six-year-old deaf boy who attended the California School for the Deaf in Fremont was deported to Colombia alongside his mother and younger brother after a routine immigration check-in on 3 March, according to California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. The child, identified by the California Department of Education as Joseph Rodriguez, was taken into custody without his hearing devices—equipment his school and advocates say is critical to his ability to communicate and develop.

The family's attorney, Nikolas De Bremaeker, said the boy's mother, 28-year-old Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez, had no criminal record in any country and had been complying with an asylum supervision order at the time of the appointment. According to De Bremaeker, that order should have shielded the family from immediate removal. 'She has a removal order but there are other forms of relief available to her, and given the supervision order she should not have been removed in this way,' he said. 'As long as you comply with (the supervision order), it grants certain protections — those were not followed.'

A Sick Day That Became a Deportation

Joseph was home sick from school the morning of the ICE check-in appointment. Because he could not be left alone, he accompanied his mother—a child care worker and cleaner who arrived in the US four years ago, fleeing domestic violence in Colombia—along with his five-year-old brother. All three were detained on the spot and arrived in Colombia by Thursday, 5 March.

Thurmond, who held a press conference in Los Angeles on 6 March, was visibly distressed. 'I am sick to my stomach that someone would abduct a 6-year-old child who has a disability when his mother was reporting to a centre and doing what was right,' he said. He also directly addressed Markwayne Mullin, the Oklahoma senator nominated by President Donald Trump to replace the ousted Kristi Noem as DHS Secretary, pending Senate confirmation. 'Senator Mullin, you've shown that you're a tough guy. Well if you're a tough guy, get on the damn phone, call Donald Trump, and have this student released and returned so we can continue to provide care for this young man,' Thurmond said.

Attorneys Say ICE Misled Them

Making matters worse, De Bremaeker and Thurmond both alleged that ICE officials deliberately misled lawyers attempting to locate the family and file emergency legal petitions on their behalf. 'When we were trying to get in touch with the family, we were unable to find out where they were. We were consistently misled. We were told at every point that the family was at a different location,' De Bremaeker said. DHS did not respond to the specific allegation that ICE officials misdirected attorneys during the family's detention.

DHS, for its part, pushed back on the characterisation of events. A spokesperson said in a statement that Rodriguez Gutierrez had entered the country illegally in 2022 and that she 'received full due process and was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge on November 25, 2024.' The agency also stated that 'ICE does not separate families' and that 'parents are given a choice: They can be removed with their children or place them with a safe person they designate.' DHS said Rodriguez Gutierrez chose to be removed with her children.

De Bremaeker did not dispute the existence of the removal order, but argued the supervision order created independent protections that ICE was required to observe before proceeding.

The Cost of Losing Access to Hearing Devices

Beyond the legal dispute, disability advocates and education officials have raised alarms about the specific harm caused to Joseph by his removal without his hearing equipment. Research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has long established that early auditory input is essential to language, cognitive, and behavioural development in deaf children, with disruptions at this age carrying lasting consequences.

Thurmond underscored this point directly. 'How cruel could you be towards this family? Again, this is a student who needs access to medical devices, (and in) a programme where he can receive support and care—not in some detention centre, not in some cell, living in squalor and poor conditions,' he said. Joseph had been enrolled at the California School for the Deaf, a state-funded institution specifically designed to support students with hearing disabilities.

The deportation of Joseph Rodriguez has drawn attention not only because of his age, but because it highlights the potential consequences of immigration enforcement actions carried out without accommodation for a child's medical and developmental needs. His case arrives amid a broader national debate over the scope and methods of ICE operations under the Trump administration, with advocates arguing that existing legal protections for asylum seekers and disabled children are being bypassed without accountability.