‘I’m going to miss you all’: Colombian family self-deports after Thanksgiving

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD/Gray News) – A Colombian family has self-deported from Arizona after Thanksgiving.

Yarlidis Goez-Santos, the mother of four children in the family, said the family was scheduled to self-deport after Thanksgiving. They are all now in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who promised they would safely return them to Colombia.

The two youngest children were born in the United States and are U.S. citizens.

Goez-Santos previously said self-deportation was the best decision for her family after her husband was deported in January 2025.

On Tuesday, Goez-Santos remained firm in her decision and expressed her gratitude to all of the people they would be leaving behind.

“I don’t have the words to express just how grateful I am,” Goez-Santos said. “I want to thank all the people that we met while we stayed here.”

More than a dozen people met outside the ICE office on Country Club Road in Tucson to say farewell to the family.

Many of the people cried, hugged the young children and said “we love you” as the family walked through the gates of the facility.

The family brought their entire life through the gates with them, packed in just a few bags.

Each person was allowed to bring one small suitcase weighing a maximum of 40 pounds and one backpack. All additional baggage, including the 5-month-old’s car seat, was left behind.

The oldest child, 9-year-old Emili, is the only one in the family who speaks English. She said goodbye to her grandparents one last time before entering the gate, saying, “Bye, Abuela. Bye, Grandpa. I’m going to miss you all.”

Emili’s grandparents said they, too, are heartbroken.

“The last thing I wanted was for my family to be separated in this way,” the grandmother said in Spanish. “They did not come here to hurt anybody, and they were looking for a better future for her grandkids.”

Emili’s final goodbye was only heard through the gates. She yelled, “Goodbye, grandpa, I’m going to miss you!”

Lucia Vindiola, a close friend of the family, said the family will be greatly missed by the community.

“She would have been just a blessing as a person here in the (United) States,” Vindiola said. “She would’ve given so much, and so would her kids. Her kids are brilliant, smart little kids. But, we’re going to lose out on all of that because they’re going back.”

The loved ones of the Goez-Santos family said the mother and her children were leaving from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, escorted by ICE agents.

They did not have any details regarding where the family’s flight was going, nor when it was set to leave or arrive at its destination.

The Goez-Santos family is just one of millions of immigrants who have self-deported after the crackdown on undocumented immigrants during the second term of President Donald Trump.

As of late October, the Department of Homeland Security said at least 1.6 million undocumented immigrants have self-deported from the country.

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