Kevin González, an 18-year-old Chicago-born US citizen, died Sunday in Durango, Mexico, just one day after being reunited with his parents following their release from federal immigration custody. He had been battling metastatic stage four colon cancer.
González's parents, Isidro González Avilés and Norma Anabel Ramírez Amaya, were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement near Douglas, Arizona, on April 14 after attempting to cross the border illegally to reach their son in Chicago as his health deteriorated. They had been denied legal permission to enter the United States, with federal authorities citing their previous unlawful presence and entries.
After ceasing to respond to treatment at the University of Chicago medical center, González made the decision to return to Mexico to spend his final days with family. A treating physician submitted a compassionate release request on April 28, describing the teenager as having no expected long-term survival prospects.
In early May, González went public with a plea for his parents' freedom, telling reporters he wanted to spend "the last days with them." The appeal resonated. A federal judge in Tucson ordered the release of both parents on May 7 and expedited their deportation to Mexico. They arrived in Durango on Saturday, May 10, giving the family roughly 24 hours together before González died that Sunday.
In an emotional final interview conducted at his grandmother's house, González Avilés described kneeling at his son's bedside. "I don't think he deserved the suffering he had," the father said through tears to Telemundo.
Ramírez Amaya, overwhelmed by her son's condition, told the network she was unprepared for what she found. "I never imagined seeing him like this," she said, weeping. "It's very sad."
Democratic Congressman Jesús "Chuty" García of Chicago, who was born in Durango before his own family immigrated to the US, released a statement mourning the loss. "The Gonzalezes should have had more time together," García wrote, pledging to "continue fighting for a humane immigration system that treats everyone with dignity."
González's case echoes that of Ofelia Torres, a 16-year-old from Chicago who died from cancer in February after pushing for her father's release from ICE detention. Both cases have drawn attention to the human cost of the Trump administration's expanded immigration enforcement operations, which accelerated following the start of the second presidency in early 2025.
Author James Rodriguez: "A federal judge gave this family one day together. The system failed Kevin González when he needed it most."
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