A teen battling terminal cancer has died, just one day after being reunited with his parents in Durango, Mexico following their release from U.S. immigration custody.
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Kevin Gonzalez’s aunt and brother confirmed his death to NBC Chicago/Telemundo Chicago late Sunday afternoon.
Earlier this week, an immigration judge had ordered the expedited release of Gonzalez’s parents so they could reunite with him in Mexico.
Kevin, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen, was born in Chicago but had been living in Mexico with his parents, Isidoro González Avilés and Norma Anabel Ramírez Amaya, who had been deported years back. Kevin was diagnosed with colon cancer earlier this year in Chicago, where he had gone to get checked for ongoing stomach ailments. The cancer had spread to his stomach and lungs, and doctors said treatment was no longer viable. The physicians had recommended he receive comfort care at home until the end of his life.
Following his diagnosis, Kevin’s parents had attempted to cross the border to see him in Chicago, but they were taken into custody by ICE agents and were in immigration detention in Arizona.
While his parents were detained, Kevin flew back to Mexico and was in the care of his grandmother. Last week, Kevin had issued a public plea for his parents to be released from custody so they could be by his side.
On Saturday, Kevin was able to reunite with his parents in an emotional reunion, embracing his mother in a hug that resembled the finish line.
It was the culmination of months of prayer, a relentless effort and a community’s push to bring the family back together.
Through it all, Kevin never gave up. He held on to his final wish, and Kevin woke up to his parents’ touch and care on Sunday. The 18-year-old spent his final moments surrounded by his family and friends, knowing his story touched millions who were all rooting for him to get what he had longed for.
He died Sunday afternoon, with his grieving parents by his side.
“I didn’t imagine seeing him so thin, the way he is,” his tearful mom said in an interview with Noticias Telemundo.
“I knelt on his feet, I told him I was sorry if I ever disappointed him as a father and that I loved him,” Kevin’s tearful father said.
“I think the suffering he’s gone through, he doesn’t deserve it,” he said as he wept.
The Mexican consulate and multiple lawmakers advocated for the family’s reunion. A federal judge was moved by the father’s plea during a hearing on Thursday, and his parents were released on Friday, when they initiated the trip home to Durango.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Kevin’s mother attempted to re-enter the U.S. on two separate occasions before being caught. The most recent attempt was earlier this year, along with Kevin’s father.
Kevin’s grandmother said in a previous interview that the parents had filed humanitarian requests to be allowed in the country but were denied. A DHS spokesperson told NBC Chicago the parents had not applied for humanitarian parole but had applied for B1/B2 visitor visas, which were denied due to their previous unlawful presence and re-entries.
Reflecting on crossing the border, Kevin’s father said, “just to see my son, I would jump a wall, go through barbed wire, for that same reason, I say to myself, I would give my life for him.”