Siblings heartbroken as dad is detained by ICE, mom in hospice with stage 4 cancer
By Rob McMillan
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BIG BEAR LAKE, California (KABC) — Three sisters in Big Bear Lake are now facing the gut-wrenching possibility of losing both their mother and father in a matter of days.
Not only is their 43-year-old mother in hospice after battling stage 4 brain cancer, but their father was recently detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Armando Gonzalez, 49, is now facing deportation after living and working in the Big Bear community for more than 20 years.
“All I can say is he’s innocent,” said Adriana Gonzalez, 20. “He has no criminal record. He didn’t do anything.”
Adriana says her father works as a handyman and house cleaner, and was on his way to a job Tuesday morning when he was detained by ICE agents along Big Bear Boulevard.
By the end of the day, he was being held at the ICE detention center in Adelanto where Adriana was able to visit him for about 10 minutes.
Now she, and her two other sisters, are left alone with their mother. They say she likely only has days to live.
“He was the light of the family right now,” Adriana said about her father. “He would make sure we were OK; he would cheer us up. When he would walk into the room we felt reassured that everything is going to be OK.
“And now we don’t know how to go from here.”
Adriana said she has been trying to gain permanent residency for her father, who is an undocumented immigrant. She said a lawyer recently told her she has a good chance at success since her father has no criminal record.
However, as a U.S. citizen, she is required to be 21 years old to be able to apply for permanent residency for her father. Right now, she is only 20.
She is hoping by drawing attention to the situation, her father might be released before his wife passes away.
“We were barely starting to grieve my mom,” Adriana said. “She’s on her last few moments of life, and her time is so limited.
“Now it feels like we’re not just losing my mom but my father.”
Eyewitness News reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment and are awaiting a response.
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