Kevin González, an 18-year-old Chicago-born teen who fought for his parents' release from U.S. immigration custody while battling terminal cancer, has died shortly after reuniting with them in Mexico, his family confirmed to media outlets.
Family's Ordeal and Reunion
Kevin's parents, Isidro González Avilés, 48, and Norma Anabel Ramírez Amaya, 43, were taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in Arizona in mid-April after crossing the U.S. border without permission to visit their dying son in Chicago. Kevin traveled to Mexico to be with relatives, pleading publicly for his parents' release so they could be with him during his final days battling metastatic stage four colon cancer.
A federal judge ordered the parents' release on Thursday, as reported by Telemundo. They reunited with Kevin at his maternal grandmother's home in Durango, Mexico, on Saturday afternoon. Kevin's brother, Jovany Ramírez, and an aunt informed the network that Kevin died late Sunday afternoon.
Father's Emotional Plea
In an interview with Telemundo during Kevin's final hours, González Avilés described kneeling at his son's feet, asking for forgiveness and telling him he loved him. “I don’t think he deserved the suffering he had,” a weeping González Avilés said.
Democratic U.S. Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García of Chicago issued a statement Sunday, saying the family “should have had more time together.” García, born in Durango himself, vowed to “continue fighting for a humane immigration system.”
Background of the Case
Kevin, a U.S. citizen born in Chicago but raised in Mexico, received his terminal diagnosis in January while visiting relatives in Chicago. After treatment failed, his parents sought permission to travel to the U.S. but were denied due to previous unlawful presence. They attempted to enter without permission and were arrested near Douglas, Arizona, on April 14, then detained.
ICE's actions occurred amid a mass immigration detention and deportation campaign under Donald Trump's second presidency. A doctor's document from the University of Chicago medical center requested compassionate release for Kevin's mother, noting Kevin was “not expected to survive long.”
Kevin appeared in a Telemundo story on May 6, asking for his parents' release to spend his last days with them. A U.S. district judge ordered their release and expedited deportation on May 7. They were deported to Mexico on Friday and saw Kevin on Saturday, one day before his death.
Mother's Grief
Ramírez Amaya told Telemundo it was grueling to see her son's condition: “I never imagined seeing him like this – no. It’s very sad.”
Kevin's case echoes that of Ofelia Torres, a 16-year-old Chicago girl who died in February from cancer after advocating for her father's release from ICE custody. These cases highlight the human toll of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.
