A deaf 6-year-old boy snatched by immigration agents from Northern California and deported to Colombia this month needs to be returned to the U.S. immediately or he could die, a lawyer representing the child said Wednesday. <\/p>\n
Attorney Nikolas De Bremaeker said the boy, Joseph Lodano Rodriguez, was \u201cat risk every day that he is not getting his treatments.\u201d The child has a cochlear implant that requires the same routine maintenance and cleaning he was receiving stateside but may not get in Colombia.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph is at immense risk for his life if he does not continue the treatment that he was receiving in the United States,\u201d De Bremaeker said at a virtual news conference hosted by California Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is at risk of infection, he is at risk of meningitis, he is at risk of death if he is not given the proper care for his surgical implants.\u201d<\/p>\n Joseph, his 28-year-old mother, Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez, and another son, 5, were detained by federal agents on March 3 while attending an immigration meeting and deported shortly after.<\/p>\n Rodriguez Gutierrez traveled to the United States in 2022 seeking asylum from domestic violence and lived in Hayward. She was told in the run up to the March 3 meeting that she needed to bring her two children for a routine check-in to update the photos Immigration and Customs Enforcement had of them.<\/p>\n Shortly after arriving, ICE agents \u201ctried to force her to sign a document without explanation, and then pushed the family into a vehicle to be put on a flight to a faraway detention facility, \u201c De Bremaeker told The Times earlier.<\/p>\n The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions sent Wednesday after office hours but has consistently said that Rodriguez Gutierrez was \u201can illegal alien from Colombia\u201d who \u201cillegally entered the United States in 2022.\u201d <\/p>\n She was issued a removal order on Nov. 25, 2024, according to DHS.<\/p>\n Thurmond, the superintendent, called on the public to lobby Congress and the Trump administration \u201cto return Joseph so he can continue his studies.\u201d<\/p>\n Thurmond showed a 40-second clip of Joseph and his family at a Colombian facility for the deaf. <\/p>\n The child appeared to struggle communicating with his sibling and mother, while his brother repeatedly tried to give directions to him in Spanish with little avail.<\/p>\n Joseph\u2019s only language is American Sign Language, Thurmond said. Joseph was studying at the state-funded Fremont\u2019s California School for the Deaf. <\/p>\n \u201cJoseph is struggling,\u201d Thurmond said. \u201cHe does not have the ability to communicate with anyone and in many ways, he can barely communicate with his mom. Like Joseph\u2019s mom, Lesly was just beginning to learn American Sign Language.\u201d<\/p>\n