1 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,159 Speaker 1: Hi, everyone, This is a bonus episode of Bleep with 2 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: Anna Navarro and I am doing this in honor of 3 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: Kevin Gonzalez and of all of those people who are 4 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:25,440 Speaker 1: suffering because of the cruelty of this administration and ice. 5 00:00:26,720 --> 00:00:30,640 Speaker 1: Who is Kevin Gonzalez. Kevin Gonzalez was a young man 6 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: eighteen years old born in Chicago, Illinois, A US citizen 7 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:42,080 Speaker 1: born to undocumented parents. His parents were deported back to 8 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:46,840 Speaker 1: Mexico in twenty eleven. Kevin Gonzalez was a child, went 9 00:00:46,880 --> 00:00:51,440 Speaker 1: back to Mexico with his parents this winter. Over the holidays, 10 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:55,160 Speaker 1: he came to Chicago to visit his brother who lives there. 11 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: While in Chicago, he fell sick, went to the hospital 12 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:06,480 Speaker 1: and was diagnosed with late stage terminal colon cancer. He 13 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 1: was very, very ill, very ill. The hospital started treating him, 14 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,679 Speaker 1: and his parents, who were in Mexico, were desperate to 15 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: come and be with their son. They went to ask 16 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:25,479 Speaker 1: for a visa. They asked for humanitarian parole, which exists 17 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: precisely for cases like this. That's why it's called humanitarian parole, 18 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: because it's supposed to be issued for humanitarian cases. It's 19 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:40,480 Speaker 1: supposed to be issued with compassion for cases where people 20 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: need to come to the United States for extreme reasons, 21 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,040 Speaker 1: so they went into the consulate. They asked to be 22 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 1: allowed back into the United States so they could be 23 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,960 Speaker 1: with their eighteen year old boy as he was receiving 24 00:01:55,040 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: treatment for colon cancer in Chicago. They were denied, so 25 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:05,680 Speaker 1: in an act of desperation, these parents crossed the border 26 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: in Arizona to come and see their boy. To come 27 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,119 Speaker 1: and be with their boy who needed them, they got 28 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:17,800 Speaker 1: detained by ice and held in a detention facility. They 29 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: were detained on April fourteenth, and for almost a month 30 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: they sat in ice detention as their son wasted away 31 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: and died. There were elected officials begging the Trump administration 32 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:41,520 Speaker 1: to release them. The doctors from this hospital wrote letters 33 00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 1: saying that this boy had days weeks to live, asking 34 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:52,919 Speaker 1: for their release. Nothing happened. Understand that they weren't asking 35 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 1: to be released into the United States. They were asking 36 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:58,919 Speaker 1: to be released so they could go back to Mexico, 37 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 1: and Kevin Gonzalez was told that there was nothing more 38 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: that could be done for him. He chose to go 39 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:08,560 Speaker 1: back to Mexico to be surrounded by family, to be 40 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: with his grandmother and his family members so he could 41 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 1: die embraced by that love. So these parents, while this 42 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: baby boy was dying in Mexico, were sitting in detention 43 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:26,919 Speaker 1: in Arizona. There was a huge campaign to get them released. 44 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: This was first brought to my attention by Congressman Joaquin Castro, 45 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:35,080 Speaker 1: who has been a hero bringing issues like this to 46 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: the forefront and shedding a spotlight on them. And still 47 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:43,560 Speaker 1: this administration did not release them because they're cruel, because 48 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: they want to inflict pain on brown people, because they 49 00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,440 Speaker 1: don't want to reunite family. Because every time you see 50 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: them wearing a cross and talking from a podium, clutching 51 00:03:55,080 --> 00:04:00,120 Speaker 1: a Bible and quoting Bible versus they are being hypocrites. 52 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:04,160 Speaker 1: If they had any compassion, if they had any empathy, 53 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,920 Speaker 1: they could have released these parents so they could have 54 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: spent the last weeks of his life with Kevin Gonzalez. Instead, 55 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:18,479 Speaker 1: his parents sat in a detention facility for almost a 56 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:22,840 Speaker 1: month until they finally went in front of a judge 57 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:27,920 Speaker 1: who granted them expedited removal, released them and they were 58 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:33,040 Speaker 1: free to go back to Mexico. It took them over 59 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: sixteen hours more than that to get to Durango, where 60 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: Kevin Gonzalez, their son was dying. They got there on 61 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:46,280 Speaker 1: a Saturday night. Kevin Gonzalez died the next day, they 62 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:50,680 Speaker 1: were able to hug their child one last time. They embraced. 63 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: I remember seeing this video where Kevin saw his mom 64 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:59,640 Speaker 1: walk in through the door and broke out in a cry, saying, 65 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:05,839 Speaker 1: I'm that means mom, Mommy, mommy. He cried out, and 66 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: she went and she hugged him, crying. His father was 67 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:16,560 Speaker 1: holding his legs with his head laying on his son's 68 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:20,679 Speaker 1: dying son's legs, and they embraced. And a few hours 69 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 1: later the next day, on Mother's Day, Kevin Gonzalez passed 70 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:30,360 Speaker 1: away from stage four colon cancer. And I want you 71 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:33,040 Speaker 1: all to hear this story. I want us to remember 72 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:37,160 Speaker 1: this story when we go and vote, because I can 73 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: think of little of anything that is more cruel and 74 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:48,719 Speaker 1: more evidence of the lack of heart, the lack of 75 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:54,039 Speaker 1: humanity of an administration than the case of Kevin Gonzalez. Understand, 76 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:59,160 Speaker 1: they could have released these parents. They have a lot 77 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:03,000 Speaker 1: of discretion, I does. They could have released these parents 78 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 1: weeks before, so they could have had the chance to 79 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:10,760 Speaker 1: spend weeks, not hours, with their dying son. And they 80 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:15,040 Speaker 1: chose not to do so, because all they want to 81 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: be is cruel and mean and set an example. And 82 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: they want us to forget these names. They want us 83 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:24,919 Speaker 1: to forget these cases. They want us to forget the 84 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 1: little five year old Liam Conejo Ramos with the nit 85 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: blue hat, who they used as human bait. They want 86 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:35,480 Speaker 1: us to forget the pregnant woman who they dragged through 87 00:06:35,520 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: the streets. They want us to forget the fifty plus 88 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:42,920 Speaker 1: people who have now died in ice custody. They want 89 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 1: us to forget the four thousand plus children who are 90 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:51,400 Speaker 1: being held in deplorable conditions in detention centers. And they 91 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:55,479 Speaker 1: want us to forget Kevin Gonzalez. And that is why 92 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 1: I will use every chance I have and every platform 93 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:02,800 Speaker 1: I have to continue saying their names and to continue 94 00:07:02,839 --> 00:07:07,600 Speaker 1: reminding us and reminding this country of the inhumane acts 95 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 1: by the Trump administration. Because the anger I feel, the 96 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:15,520 Speaker 1: anguish I feel, the sadness I feel was going to 97 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: propel me to the voting booth, and I hope it 98 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 1: does the same for you. So rest in peace, Kevin Gonzalez, 99 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 1: and to all of the other names that we don't 100 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 1: know that have had to suffer silently because of the 101 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: cruelty of the Trump administration. Ken Gonzale, thank you for 102 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 1: listening to this. Please share it. People need to know 103 00:07:40,520 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 1: his name, people need to know what happened in this case. 104 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: Thank you. Bleep with Anna Navarro is a High Finite 105 00:07:46,600 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: Media group production in partnership with Iheartmichaududa podcast Network. For 106 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: more of your favorite shows, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 107 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:00,559 Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts.