Federal immigration agents in Portland detained a 7-year-old girl and her parents last week on their way to the hospital, according to a GoFundMe page in Spanish created by family relatives.
Yohendry de Jesús Crespo Álvarez, 40, and his wife Darianny Liseth González de Crespo, 34, had just parked at Adventist Health Center on the morning of Jan. 16 when three trucks surrounded their vehicle. Federal immigration agents from the trucks forced the couple to exit the vehicle and handcuffed them despite their pleas to see a doctor for their daughter who had a bloody nose since the previous night, according to family friend Ana Mendoza, who told the Capital Chronicle she is speaking on behalf of the family.
A Border Patrol agent shot a couple from Venezuela near the same clinic earlier this month, and the Crespo-González family’s detention follows a wave of reports showing federal immigration agents arresting children and their parents in states such as Minnesota and Washington.
December marked one year of the family moving to the United States from Venezuela, Mendoza said. Mendoza, also Venezuelan, crossed into the U.S. with them by foot alongside her two children and 75-year-old mother-law, trekking across jungles in Colombia, Central America and Mexico.
The Crespo-González family have an active asylum case and have a court hearing scheduled for 2028, she said, and the family had just moved into their own apartment in Gresham and were waiting for their recently-approved work permits to come in the mail.
The family lived in Utah before moving to Oregon in October, but they left out fear of growing political unrest and immigration enforcement following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“They had no criminal record, no infractions, they just got to Portland,” Mendoza said. “They are educated people and they are honest.”
The daughter on Monday received medical care after developing a fever that has since subsided, Mendoza said. The family is being held at the South Texas Family Residential Center.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed the family’s detention, saying the parents illegally entered the U.S. in 2024 using the Custom and Border Protection One app, a Biden-era app that let migrants without entry documents schedule appointments at designated ports of entry on the southern border.
“Any application for asylum does not preclude immigration enforcement,” the spokesperson said. “The law requires those in the country illegally claiming asylum to be detained pending removal. You can look it up in the statute.”
The family’s immigration claims will be heard by a judge and they will remain in ICE custody, according to DHS.
Health care workers, Oregon lawmakers condemn situation
The Oregon Nurses Association called the situation alarming, chilling and deeply shameful.
“No parent should ever be forced to weigh their child’s health against the risk of detention,” the union said in a statement. “No child should be subjected to this level of fear. Every child deserves access to quality and timely healthcare.”
Union members have warned that the Trump administration’s rollback of restrictions on immigration enforcement would discourage families from seeking medical care.
“When that trust is broken, families delay care or avoid it altogether, turning preventable and treatable conditions into life-threatening emergencies,” the union said. “For children, the consequences of delayed or denied care are especially severe.”
State Rep. Ricki Ruiz, D-Gresham, condemned the situation on social media. Ruiz represents the city where the family was living. According to census data, more than 16% of Gresham residents were born outside the U.S., and 44% of those residents are from Latin America.
“Situations involving children require heightened care, compassion and coordination, and we expect all responsible agencies to act swiftly and humanely to ensure this child’s health and safety are protected,” Ruiz said.
Sen. Chris Gorsek, D-Gresham, said he is monitoring the situation closely.
“Hospitals should never be places of fear,” he said in a statement. “Using immigration enforcement this way makes our communities less safe, not more.”
The Spanish-language news outlet Noticias Noroeste first reported on the Crespo-González family’s detention.