18-year-old Chicago cancer patient dies day after reunion in Mexico with parents detained by ICE

CHICAGO (WLS) -- An 18-year-old Chicago-born man has died battling terminal cancer just a day after reuniting with his parents, who were detained by ICE while trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border to say their final goodbyes, the family confirmed to ABC7.

Kevin Gonzalez passed away Sunday at a family home in Durango, Mexico, less than five months after he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.

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Gonzalez received the terminal diagnosis while in Chicago visiting his brother over the holidays.

When the terminal diagnosis came, his mother told ABC7 she and her husband applied for emergency visas. They were denied, because both had been previously deported.

His parents, who live in Mexico, attempted to cross the border illegally to be with their son. They were detained by ICE and held in federal custody in Arizona.

The family fought to be reunited.

Knowing he might just have days left to live and wanting to hold his mother and father one last time, Gonzalez checked himself out of the University of Chicago Medical Center hospital last week and flew to his grandmother's home in Mexico. He hoped that his parents would be released from custody and deported in time for him to say goodbye.

On Thursday, a judge in Arizona ordered the release of Gonzalez's parents. On Friday, they returned to Mexico.

Gonzalez's brother in Chicago, Jovany Ramirez, told ABC7 his parents were escorted by ICE to the border. That is where consulate officials helped them board a bus, and then an emergency flight was arranged for them to get home as quickly as possible.

Gonzalez and his parents were finally able to see each other again on Saturday in Durango.

"What I would have wanted more than anything was to be there with him during his bad news, because it was so difficult for me," his mother Anabel Ramírez Amaya said Saturday. "Not to be there to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be okay."

U.S. Representative Delia Ramirez says she and her staff worked tirelessly to make sure Kevin's parents got to him on time.

"However you feel about immigration, you can't tell me that a mother or father will do anything to be able to hold their child one last time," Rep. Ramirez said. "To me, we honor Kevin's memory by fighting for more compassion and a just world that honors our humanity or dignity, that actually puts our children first."

Representative Ramirez says she is working to mobilize support for different bills aimed at overhauling immigration enforcement and DHS oversight, and that is how she will continue to honor Gonzalez's memory.