The urgent plea from the parents of an 18-year-old with terminal cancer in Mexico was answered Thursday when a federal judge in Arizona authorized their expedited deportation from the U.S. so they could reunite with their dying son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kevin Gonz\u00e1lez has metastatic Stage 4 colon cancer and is currently under his grandmother\u2019s care. Born in Chicago to Mexican immigrant parents, Kevin was diagnosed with the terminal disease in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His brother, Jovany Ram\u00edrez, began caring for him in Chicago following the diagnosis. Their parents, Isidoro Gonz\u00e1lez Avil\u00e9s and Norma Anabel Ram\u00edrez Amaya, were living in Mexico at the time after being deported several years back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After doctors told the family that Kevin stopped responding to treatment, his parents filed humanitarian requests asking to be allowed into the U.S. and be with their son, Virginia Amaya, Kevin\u2019s grandmother, told Telemundo Chicago, which first reported the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the parents\u2019 petitions were denied, the parents crossed the border in a desperate attempt to reunite with their terminally ill son, Amaya said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gonz\u00e1lez Avil\u00e9s, 48, and Ram\u00edrez Amaya, 43, were taken into immigration custody on April 14 near Douglas, Arizona, and sent to a detention center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told NBC Chicago in a statement on Wednesday that the parents \u201cdid not apply for humanitarian parole.\u201d Instead, they applied for B1\/B2 visitor visas, \u201cwhich were denied due to their previous unlawful presence and entries into the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following his parents\u2019 detention, Kevin left Chicago and flew to Mexico; his health soon deteriorated and he hasn\u2019t been allowed to fly. Kevin has hoped to reunite with his parents in his grandmother\u2019s home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His doctors in Chicago wrote letters calling for the \u201ccompassionate release\u201d of Gonz\u00e1lez Avil\u00e9s and Ram\u00edrez Amaya so they could reunite with their sick son in Mexico. They recommended that Kevin \u201creceive comfort care until the end of his life\u201d with his family in Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSadly, Kevin is not expected to survive long,\u201d the letter, which was obtained by Telemundo Chicago, reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to court records obtained by NBC News, Isidoro Gonz\u00e1lez Avil\u00e9s had been previously removed from the United States on January 2011 and had no legal authorization to come back into the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Thursday he faced a crucial court hearing in Tucson, Arizona, where a federal judge was to decide if he would face criminal charges for illegal re-entry or if he would be repatriated to Mexico, according to Fernando S\u00e1nchez, the consul of Mexico in Tucson, who spoke to Telemundo Chicago on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the hearing, Gonz\u00e1lez Avil\u00e9s was crying as he asked the judge to send him to Mexico to be with his son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The judge was moved, saying he was understanding of the situation since he also has children, and authorized his expedited deportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Gonz\u00e1lez Avil\u00e9s and Ram\u00edrez Amaya are expected to be removed to Mexico through the Nogales Port of Entry in Arizona later on Thursday, according to Telemundo Chicago. Immigration authorities had not confirmed an exact timeline for their deportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Susana Villalvazo, a spokesperson for the Consulate General of Mexico in Chicago, told NBC News in a statement Thursday afternoon that consulate officials in Tucson remained in close contact with the parents and their attorney \u201cduring today\u2019s hearing and are currently coordinating with ICE authorities their expedite repatriation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The consulate of Mexico in Nogales and Mexican government officials in Durango will then coordinate the parents\u2019 reunification with their son, Villalvazo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since Kevin first spoke out Tuesday from Mexico pleading for his parents\u2019 deportation, his health has deteriorated dramatically. He\u2019s now unable to eat and drink water and can barely speak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy brother\u2019s days are numbered. So, what he wanted was for my parents to be there,\u201d Jovany Ram\u00edrez told Telemundo Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ram\u00edrez said his brother barely sleeps anymore because \u201che is afraid he won\u2019t wake up again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat just breaks my heart, seeing how much he is suffering,\u201d their grandmother told Telemundo Chicago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n