Cliff Notes – Seriously ill girl ordered to leave US gets reprieve
- A four-year-old girl, Sofia, diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, has been granted a year’s reprieve from deportation due to the risk of death if her treatment is interrupted.
- The child’s cutting-edge medical care, which includes a nutrient-feeding backpack, is exclusively available in the US; her humanitarian parole was extended following advocacy from her legal team.
- Concerns about the family’s deportation were raised, with lawyers emphasising that returning to Mexico could jeopardise Sofia’s life, a stance countered by the Department of Homeland Security’s claims regarding their application status.
Seriously ill girl ordered to leave US gets reprieve after warning she could die within days | US News
A seriously ill girl ordered to leave the US has been given a year’s reprieve after warnings she could die within days if her treatment was stopped.
Four-year-old Sofia, whose real name we are not using, is being treated at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
She uses a backpack that feeds her nutrients she can’t absorb naturally – and the cutting-edge treatment is only available in the US.
Sofia was born with short bowel syndrome, a debilitating life-threatening condition.
She and her mother, Deysi, entered the US legally in July 2023 and were granted humanitarian parole to access medical care for two years.
Sofia wears a special backpack for 18 hours a day that feeds her nutrients
In April – three months into the Trump presidency – the family got a letter saying their humanitarian parole was being revoked and they had to return immediately to Mexico.
Lawyers for the family said doctors had warned she could die “within days” if her treatment was interrupted.
“We’re sending them to die,” lawyer Gina Amato Lough told US News last week.
“That’s not justice and it doesn’t make us any safer. We cannot let our country turn its back on this child,” said Ms Lough.
They wrote to officials to plead the family’s case – and it seems to have worked. Her mother has now received an approval notice for humanitarian parole for another year.
Sofia’s mother received multiple notices telling them they had to leave
The move will be a relief for Deysi, who said she had “so much anxiety” over whether they would be deported and her daughter’s life put at risk.
“It’s always in my mind that my daughter can die,” she said.
“It may not sound real, but it is really what will happen if my daughter is not connected to her treatment.”
The Department of Homeland Security said in a previous statement that claims the family were being deported were false.
“This family applied for humanitarian parole on May 14, 2025, and the application is still being considered,” it said.
A tough stance on immigration is one of Donald Trump’s key policies and popular with his voters, but has been criticised for being too harsh and indiscriminate.
