Deported deaf boy, 6, could die in Colombia without medical attention

A deaf 6-year-old boy who was abducted by immigration officials in Northern California and deported to Colombia this month must be returned to the United States immediately or he could die, an attorney representing the boy said Wednesday.

Lawyer Nikolas De Bremaeker said that the boy, Joseph Lodano Rodriguez, “faces the risk of not receiving treatment every day.” The child has a cochlear implant; This requires the same routine maintenance and cleaning that he receives in the United States, but may not receive in Colombia.

“Joseph will be at great risk to his life if he does not continue the treatment he receives in the United States,” de Bremaeker said at a virtual news conference hosted by California Supt. Public Education Tony Thurmond, Democratic candidate for governor.

“He’s at risk of infection, he’s at risk of meningitis, he’s at risk of death if his surgical implants aren’t properly cared for.”

Joseph, his mother, 28-year-old Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez, and her other son, 5, were detained by federal agents while attending an immigration meeting on March 3 and were deported shortly thereafter.

Rodriguez Gutierrez traveled to the United States in 2022 to seek asylum from domestic violence and lived in Hayward. Before the March 3 meeting, she was told she would need to bring her two children for a routine check-up to update photos Immigration and Customs Enforcement had.

Shortly after arriving, ICE agents “forced him to sign a document without explanation and then attempted to put the family in a vehicle and take them to a remote detention facility,” de Bremaeker previously told The Times.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions sent after business hours Wednesday but has repeatedly said that Rodriguez Gutierrez is “an illegal alien from Colombia” who “illegally entered the United States in 2022.”

A deportation order was issued for him on Nov. 25, 2024, according to DHS.

Superintendent Thurmond called on the public to lobby Congress and the Trump administration to “return Joseph so he can continue his work.”

Thurmond showed a 40-second clip of Joseph and his family at a facility for the deaf in Colombia.

While the boy had difficulty communicating with his sibling and mother, his brother repeatedly tried to instruct him in Spanish, but without much success.

Joseph’s only language was American Sign Language, Thurmond said. Joseph was attending the state-funded Fremont California School for the Deaf.

“Joseph is struggling,” Thurmond said. “She has no ability to communicate with anyone, and in many ways she can barely communicate with her mother. Like Joseph’s mother, Lesly was just beginning to learn American Sign Language.”

Both California senators — Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff — along with the state’s Democratic congressmen Eric Swalwell, Nanette Barragán, Zoe Lofgren, Kevin Mullin and Lateefah Simon, called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the State Department to investigate the deportation.

The group is also calling on both government agencies to return the family to the United States through the humanitarian parole process. This move will allow Joseph to re-enroll in school and receive specialized care.

Celena Ponce, founder of Hands United, a nonprofit dedicated to helping deaf immigrant children and families, said her group is trying to connect the family with the deaf community in Colombia and services such as interpreters.

But Joseph and his family face many challenges, he said. The first obstacle he will face if he stays in Colombia is that he and his mother will have to learn Colombian sign language, which is different from American sign language.

Ponce added that Joseph also suffers from language deprivation, which means he is delayed compared to other hearing 6-year-olds.

“Since Colombia does not have boarding schools like those in California, the ability to fully concentrate on the language does not exist,” he said.

He said the gains he made at the California School for the Deaf will likely come to an end.

Times writers Clara Harter and Christopher Buchanan contributed to this report.