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Big Bear Lake sisters’ dad is detained by ICE as mom fights cancer

April 12, 2026

“l’ll be back soon,” handyman Armando Gonzalez said during a visit from an immigration detention center. “Take care of your mom.”

Those words from the Big Bear Lake resident, detained by immigration officers more than a week ago, are still fresh to his daughters, Citlalli Montes, Adriana Gonzalez and Iris Gonzalez.

It gives them hope as they grapple with his absence and the unimaginable — caring for their terminally ill mother, Erika Gonzalez, at the same time. The hospice patient with Stage 4 brain cancer struggles to comprehend what’s going on around her and has no idea what happened to her husband.

Gonzalez, 48, was picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers while driving to work one morning along Big Bear Boulevard, his daughters said. Now held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County, Gonzalez faces possible deportation to his native Mexico, the daughters said.

This comes amid President Donald Trump’s mass deportation initiative that has seen thousands of undocumented immigrants detained in centers across Southern California and the nation.

Despite being behind bars, Armando Gonzalez asks constantly about his wife of over 20 years, his children said. The 43-year-old house cleaner was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2020. She’s now in hospice care at the family’s Big Bear Lake home with her three daughters as her main caretakers.

Their father is “trying to stay positive for us; telling us, ‘Take care of your mom, don’t worry about me,’ ” middle daughter, Adriana Gonzalez, 20, said in a video interview. “The first thing he asks (when we visit) is, ‘How’s your mom? What’s she doing today? Who’s taking care of her today?’ He seems like he’s in good spirits, because I know he wants us to be strong. He’s always been that dad that shows resilience, never his weaknesses.”

To help their parents, the Gonzalez sisters started a GoFundMe account. The fundraiser passed its $15,000 goal, by more than double, in just a few days, as of Friday, April 10.

“Please help us fund legal fees to release our dad from ICE’s illegal detention,” a statement on the webpage reads.

It also expresses concern about their dying mother.

“These last few months … are precious, and we are terrified that his detention will prevent him from being by her side during this incredibly difficult time,” the family wrote on GoFundMe in thanking donors. “Your support will go directly towards legal fees, representation, and the crucial work of fighting for our father’s freedom and our mother’s ability to have him here.”

In a Thursday, April 9, statement, a spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that ICE on March 31 arrested Gonzalez, “a criminal illegal alien from Mexico convicted of public order crimes.”

Gonzalez “illegally entered the United States on an unknown date. He will remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of his removal proceedings,” the statement said. “Under President Trump and DHS Secretary (Markwayne) Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.”

San Bernardino County Superior Court records show that Gonzalez, listed by his full legal name, Armando Gonzalez Procopio, has several traffic violation convictions. His record includes an unsafe lane change and driving with a suspended license, charges to which he pleaded guilty in 2007. In 2011, he pleaded guilty to driving without a valid driver’s license. The offenses were infractions, according to court records. Gonzalez’s fines totaled over $400.

The daughters said that his situation, and the circumstances of immigrants being detained and threatened with deportation without committing serious crimes, feels like a nightmare.

As their mother’s tumors spread fast over the winter, the Gonzalez sisters, including the two oldest who are pursuing college degrees, said that they take turns at home caring for her. Their father, meanwhile, is devastated and struggles to accept the fact that his wife won’t live much longer, the siblings said.

The daughters learned March 31 of their father’s detention by ICE.

They began getting calls from family and friends after reports that his empty car was spotted on the street. They had not heard of previous ICE activity in the area, nor did they know anyone who had been detained.

“It was just a regular day, I even heard him walk out the door,” Citlalli Montes, 26, said. “I have so many regrets of not telling him to stay. You don’t think this is going to ever happen … the car was parked, and not a single document left behind.”

Her younger sister, Adriana Gonzalez, said that many immigrant children are afraid “of parents being taken away,” especially as ICE operations have escalated.

“This is a fear we grew up with, and we saw everything going on with the ICE raids,” she added. The family would talk about the rights they have as immigrants, she said.

Armando Gonzalez and his wife Erika are seen in a snapshot. He is in an immigration detention center; she is dying of cancer at home in Big Bear Lake. (Courtesy of GoFundMe)

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Armando Gonzalez and his wife Erika are seen in a snapshot. He is in an immigration detention center; she is dying of cancer at home in Big Bear Lake. (Courtesy of GoFundMe)

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“We’d tell him, ‘Dad, be careful. We need you’ … and he’s a very reserved, respectful guy. He didn’t resist. I think more than anything, he was scared. He never likes to have problems.”

The sisters soon discovered Gonzalez was at the Adelanto facility in the High Desert. Then began the process of trying to bring him back home.

The privately owned Adelanto detention center has faced criticism and allegations of inhumane conditions for the immigrants held there. Also, there are rising reports of detainees dying in custody at the center.

The facility is also the target of a federal class-action lawsuit from a coalition of immigrant advocacy groups that alleges the center “housing nearly 2,000 immigrants, subjects detainees to conditions that violate constitutional rights and basic human dignity,” a coalition news release states. In March, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a court brief opposing its confinement conditions.

“I think in there (Adelanto) they all feel invisible,” Adriana Gonzalez said. “Not just my dad, but I want to speak for everyone. In there, they feel like they don’t matter, but I want them to hear that they matter. And out here, we’re their voice. We’re all fighting for them.”

The sisters said they found an immigration lawyer with the community’s help.

The Gonzalez family is also thankful to the community, from Big Bear High School, where Iris goes to school, to several Big Bear Lake businesses that set up fundraisers. These include Mexican restaurant Sonora Cantina, My Sister’s Bakery, Get the Burger and the Old Country Inn restaurant — which has a fundraiser set for Monday, April 13, in which proceeds from a cheeseburger meal will go to the family.

Amy Rojas, a manager at Sonora Cantina on Big Bear Boulevard, said her family’s business often comes to the aid of others. When word of Gonzalez’s detainment spread, Rojas said it hit home “as a pretty big issue in our community, for Hispanics.”

So the restaurant hosted a taco night with proceeds going to the family.

“Illegal or not, we’re always willing to help,” Rojas said.

Adriana Gonzalez said the family feels blessed.

“We felt God and our community, peace of mind that we’re not alone through this.”

Their father has always helped the community and supported his family, the daughters said.

He worked as a handyman and a house cleaner with his wife, who volunteered at events and fundraisers, they said. The family loves living in the Big Bear area, which they called a safe tourist town.

The family lived a happy, normal life and supported the two older sisters through college and helped when eldest daughter Montes married and became a mother.

Montes said they haven’t yet told their dying mother about their father’s situation.

Yet they “feel that she senses that he’s not here,” Montes said. “We don’t want her to think that my dad abandoned her. She doesn’t really understand much. But I think if we explain it to her, maybe she’ll feel at peace with that.”

Adriana Gonzalez agreed.

“At least she’ll know he’s OK, but won’t be around. But we’re hoping that’s not the case, and that he gets released and we just get to have him home, at least have a little happy ever after. That’s the happiest thing that could happen … to have them reunite.”

The daughters credited their dad’s quiet, resilient and always-positive spirit — plus their mom’s stubborn ambition and unwavering belief in God — in helping them keep their own faith.

“We’ve been praying together … they would want us to be united,” Adriana Gonzalez said.

In the meantime, the three sisters said that, once their father is out, they hope to seek permanent residency for him.

The siblings’ greatest wish is for their father to be released in time to see his wife again.

They don’t want to plan a funeral without him.

The family is working with immigration lawyers to challenge their father’s detention and removal proceedings.

“We don’t know what’s next, but we’re just going to do our best,” Adriana Gonzalez said.

Big Bear Lake sisters’ dad is detained by ICE as mom fights cancer Orange County Register

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Big Bear Lake sisters’ dad is detained by ICE as mom fights cancer

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