Sisters in Southern California are dealing with the loss of their mother to brain cancer, their father was deported
Three sisters in Big Bear Lake face the unthinkable – they’ve lost both parents.
The mother of these girls is suffering from Stage 4 brain cancer and is in the sick room as she has little time left to live.
And now, their 49-year-old father, Armando Gonzalez, a local handyman, is facing deportation after being arrested by migrant workers in Big Bear Lake this week.
The Gonzalez sisters could not be reached for comment, but explained their predicament on social media. GoFundMe when they are trying to raise money to give their father legal help so that he can be at home with his wife.
“These past few months with her have been precious, and we fear that her arrest will prevent her from being by his side during this incredibly difficult time,” the sisters wrote on the site.
In an interview with Big Bear Television, two sisters, Adriana Gonzalez, 20, and Citlalli Montes, 26, said immigration agents arrested their father on Big Bear Boulevard shortly before 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Adriana Gonzalez said she was sleeping when she received the call that her father was arrested, which made her rush out of the house without wearing shoes.
He said his father’s truck was abandoned and he was nowhere to be found.
The sister said ABC7– The TV that his father, who works as a handyman and house cleaner, is being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, which has been under scrutiny by lawmakers, immigrant rights groups and the Mexican government amid allegations of brutal conditions and mistreatment and deaths of immigrants.
At least four from Mexico they died in custody.
The sisters believe that their father did not have a final removal order or a warrant for his arrest and that he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
In an emailed response to The Times, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said Gonzalez is “an illegal Mexican criminal convicted of a public order crime.”
They said he entered the US at an unknown date and will remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of his removal case.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, illegal aliens are not welcome in the US,” the statement read, referring to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
San Bernardino County court records show that Armando Gonzalez was charged in April 2011 with operating a vehicle without a valid driver’s license, which was considered a misdemeanor.
He was also charged with improperly displaying a number plate, which was later dismissed.
Gonzalez pleaded guilty in July to the first charge and paid more than $400 in fines, records show.
In an interview with Big Bear Television, the sisters said their parents were members of the Big Bear Lake community.
They said her mother, Erika, often volunteered at school events and tried to help anyone in need, including fundraising.
They said their mother has a communication problem and her memory keeps coming in and out.
“That’s why my father is so important to us because he helps,” said Adriana Gonzalez. “You can’t go through it alone; you need a team.”
“And now, it means not only that we are losing our mother, but also that our father is gone,” said the sisters in tears.
