Democratic Rep. Mike Levin spoke on the House Floor Wednesday against the deportation of two Orange County residents who were taken to Colombia in February — despite living in the U.S. for 35 years, raising a family, paying taxes, and having no criminal record.
Levin spoke about Gladys and Nelson Gonzalez, a couple from Laguna Niguel, saying ICE should be using resources to remove dangerous individuals — not those who are contributing positively to society.
Levin said the couple tried to file for asylum when they arrived to the U.S. but received “bad legal advice” from a now-disbarred attorney.
“For decades, they checked in with ICE voluntarily and were allowed to stay in the country,” he said.
But this past February, while at their ICE appointment, they were detained, separated, and deported, he said.
President Donald Trump has followed through on promises and threats of his mass deportation agenda during the first months of his administration, despite it proving to be costly and resource-intensive.
In one of the Trump administration’s latest move to curb immigration, officials said Monday the government would pay $1,000 to immigrants who are in the United States without documentation and return to their home country voluntarily.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a news release that would also pay for travel assistance — and that those people who use an app called CBP Home to tell the government that they plan to return home will be “deprioritized” for detention and removal by immigration enforcement.
The department said it had already paid for a plane ticket for one migrant to return home to Honduras from Chicago and said more tickets have been booked for this week and next.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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