The Daily Populous Tuesday May 12nd, 2026 morning edition
Authored by nbcnews.com and submitted by Tuna_Sushi

A teen battling terminal cancer has died, just one day after being reunited with his parents in Durango, Mexico, following their release from U.S. immigration custody.

Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.

Kevin Gonzalez’s aunt and brother confirmed his death to NBC Chicago/Telemundo Chicago late Sunday afternoon.

Kevin González, 18, was able to hug his parents again in Durango, Mexico; he died surrounded by his family. Telemundo

Earlier this week, an immigration judge had ordered the expedited release of Gonzalez’s parents so they could reunite with him in Mexico.

Kevin, an 18-year-old U.S. citizen, was born in Chicago but had been living in Mexico with his parents, Isidoro González Avilés and Norma Anabel Ramírez Amaya, who had been deported years back. Kevin was diagnosed with colon cancer earlier this year in Chicago, where he had gone to get checked for ongoing stomach ailments. The cancer had spread to his stomach and lungs, and doctors said treatment was no longer viable. The physicians had recommended he receive comfort care at home until the end of his life.

Kevin Gonzalez is reunited with his parents in Durango following their release from U.S. immigration custody. via NBC Chicago

Following his diagnosis, Kevin’s parents had attempted to cross the border to see him in Chicago, but they were taken into custody by ICE agents and were put in immigration detention in Arizona.

While his parents were detained, Kevin flew back to Mexico and was in the care of his grandmother. Last week, Kevin had issued a public plea for his parents to be released from custody so they could be by his side.

On Saturday, Kevin was able to reunite with his parents in an emotional reunion, embracing his mother in a hug that resembled the finish line.

It was the culmination of months of prayer, a relentless effort and a community’s push to bring the family back together.

Kevin Gonzalez with his parents before he was diagnosed. via NBC Chicago

Through it all, Kevin never gave up. He held on to his final wish, and Kevin woke up to his parents’ touch and care on Sunday. The 18-year-old spent his final moments surrounded by his family and friends, knowing his story touched millions who were all rooting for him to get what he had longed for.

He died Sunday afternoon, with his parents by his side.

“I didn’t imagine seeing him so thin, the way he is,” his tearful mom said in an interview with Noticias Telemundo.

“I knelt on his feet, I told him I was sorry if I ever disappointed him as a father and that I loved him,” Kevin’s tearful father said.

“I think the suffering he’s gone through, he doesn’t deserve it,” he said as he wept.

The Mexican consulate and multiple lawmakers advocated for the family’s reunion. On a Thursday court hearing, a federal judge was moved by the father’s plea and ordered the parents’ release the following day, when they initiated the trip home to Durango.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, Kevin’s mother attempted to re-enter the U.S. on two separate occasions before being caught. The most recent attempt was earlier this year, along with Kevin’s father.

Kevin’s grandmother said in a previous interview that the parents had filed humanitarian requests to be allowed in the country but were denied. A DHS spokesperson told NBC Chicago that the parents had not applied for humanitarian parole but for B1/B2 visitor visas, which were denied due to their previous unlawful presence and re-entries.

Reflecting on crossing the border, Kevin’s father said, “just to see my son, I would jump a wall, go through barbed wire; for that same reason, I say to myself, I would give my life for him.”

TabascohFiascoh on May 11st, 2026 at 18:21 UTC »

Christ, dying of colon cancer at 18 is tragic as fuck.

Banana-phone15 on May 11st, 2026 at 17:50 UTC »

Chicago born teenager “battling terminal cancer has died, just one day after being reunited with his parents in Durango, Mexico, following their release from U.S. immigration custody”

Samski877 on May 11st, 2026 at 16:52 UTC »

This story is absolutely gut wrenching and a total indictment of how heartless the system has become. The fact that it took a terminal cancer diagnosis and a viral petition for the government to show a shred of human decency is beyond disgusting. Kevin spent his final years fighting for his life while his parents were stuck behind a bureaucratic wall and he only got a few days with them before he passed.

It is not a success story that they were finally reunited. It is a massive failure that it was ever an issue in the first place. When your immigration rules are so rigid that they prevent a dying teenager from holding his mother’s hand, those rules are fundamentally broken. This was not about national security or the law; it was just institutional cruelty. No family should ever have to beg for the privilege of saying goodbye to their child.