A 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, Rosamaria Hernandez, has been living illegally in the United States since she was 3 months old. Attention was recently brought to her and her family when she underwent an emergency gallbladder surgery in Corpus Christi, Texas. She is now facing deportation charges, handed to her just hours after this surgery.
Hernandez was brought over the border to live in Laredo, Texas when she was a baby. On October 24, she was rushed to the hospital for immediate surgery. On her way there in an ambulance, she was stopped by border patrol. They wanted to detain her but they agreed to let her get the treatment she needed as long as they went with and never left her side. In a New York Times report, they mentioned that after the surgery, immigration agents took matters into their own hands and took Hernandez to a facility where they keep migrant children without parents. This all occurred without the knowledge of her parents, who lived only 150 miles away in Laredo, Texas. The situation was within the confines of the law as she has no legal parents or guardians and she is a minor. This is a rare deportation case because not many young girls with severe medical conditions are arrested.
Her mother, Felipa de la Cruz, mentioned to the New York Times, “I’m a mother. All I wanted was for her to get the surgery that she needed.” She later mentioned in the report how she brought her family to the States because she wanted to get the best care for her daughter. In Mexico, they didn’t have Medicaid so she could not afford appropriate medical attention there, but in the States, it was possible for her to receive the treatment she needed.
Texas representative Henry Cuellar asked for her to be released to her family on October 25. Cuellar said to USA Today, “I understand that Customs and Border Protection has a tremendous duty to protect our nations, but we should be devoting our resources and focus on bigger threats.” Many people support Hernandez’ case, saying that she should be able to stay in the United States in order to receive the treatment she needs.
The ACLU sued the government on Rosamaria’s behalf, which helped her get released back to her family and all deportation charges were dropped. “She never should have been in this situation in the first place,” ACLU lawyer Michael Tan said Friday. “There is no reason Border Patrol had to target a child.” Many could agree with Tan in that she shouldn’t have been in that situation to begin with but now that she’s released back to her family they can go on with their normal lives.
