By Trendsetter Tribune 
On Monday, March 9, 2026, U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) held a press conference at Hayward City Hall to condemn the deportation of a six-year-old deaf student who was removed from the country without his essential hearing aids.
The case of Joseph Andrey Londono Rodriguez, a student at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, has become a national flashpoint, symbolizing the human cost of the administration’s “Operation Metro Surge” mass deportation campaign.
The Detention at a Routine Check-In
The incident began on Tuesday, March 3, when Joseph and his five-year-old brother accompanied their mother, Lesly Rodriguez Gutierrez, to a routine immigration check-in at the ICE office in San Francisco.
- The Ambush: Despite being on a supervision order that required regular check-ins via a smartphone app, the family was immediately detained upon arrival.
- Assistive Devices Left Behind: A relative waiting outside the building attempted to hand over Joseph’s hearing aids and cochlear implant equipment to agents, but was reportedly denied access.
- The “Runaround”: The family’s attorney, Nikolas De Bremaeker, alleged that ICE provided inaccurate information about the family’s location—claiming they were in Louisiana or Arizona—to prevent legal filings before they were ultimately deported to Colombia on March 5.
“Unnecessary Cruelty”
Rep. Swalwell, who is currently running for Governor of California, appeared alongside the family’s legal team to demand that the federal government immediately allow the child to return to his school community.
“To rip a six-year-old child who is deaf from his school, to deny him the very devices he needs to hear and communicate, and then to dump him in a country he fled to escape violence… that is not ‘efficiency,’ it is elective cruelty.” — Rep. Eric Swalwell
California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond joined the outcry, noting that Joseph had only recently begun developing communication skills through American Sign Language (ASL). Because the child does not know Colombian Sign Language, his educators warn that his developmental progress is now at a standstill.
DHS Response and Political Context
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a statement maintaining that “ICE does not separate families” and that parents are given the choice to be removed with their children or place them with a designated guardian. They noted that Gutierrez chose to be removed with her children.
The controversy comes at a particularly sensitive time for DHS leadership:
- Noem’s Exit: The incident unfolded just as Secretary Kristi Noem was ousted from her position following unrelated scandals involving “ghost contracts.”
- Mullin’s Appointment: Critics, including Thurmond and Swalwell, have challenged the incoming nominee for DHS Secretary, Senator Markwayne Mullin, to “prove he’s a tough guy” by personally intervening to bring the child home.