Featured Image Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Mexico
Britt Jones
A young girl who is recovering from brain cancer has been deported, according to reports.
Last month, a family from Texas was stopped by immigration authorities and deported to Mexico while on the way to a medical check-up for their 10-year-old daughter.
The little girl was taken, along with her parents, by Customs and Border Protection at an immigration checkpoint as they travelled from Rio Grande to Houston.
Houston is where their daughter’s specialists are located, and according to an attorney representing the family, the family had made the same trip five times prior without issue.
Advert
On previous trips, the undocumented parents were allowed through the checkpoint after giving authorities letters from lawyers and doctors, but not this time.
When handing over the letters, which had been accepted multiple times before, authorities did not think they were sufficient and arrested the parents, even though the lawyer shared they had no criminal past.
The 10-year-old girl and four other children were in the car at the time of the detention.
All but one of the kids were born in the US and are citizens of the nation.
When given the option to be deported as a couple or as a family, the parents decided to stay together and all go to Mexico.
This is because the children could be placed into foster care in the US without their parents to care for them, making it difficult for them to be reunited.
The 10-year-old girl is recovering from brain surgery after she was diagnosed with brain cancer last year.
Since her operation to remove the tumor, doctors in Houston have been monitoring her with regular visits.
According to the mother, who spoke to NBC, authorities took the family to a detention center, separated her and her daughters from her husband and sons and then CBP agents bundled the family into a van and drove them to Mexico.
The family first lived in a shelter, and were then moved to a house.
However, her children are frightened for their safety, as the area they were deported to has had reports of US citizens being kidnapped.
Sadly, the couple’s 15-year-old son is also ill, and has a heart disorder known as Long QT syndrome.
The condition causes irregular heartbeats, and if it isn’t properly treated, it can be fatal.
The mother told NBC News that now that they’ve been deported, the children can’t receive the proper health care they need.
President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, was asked in December of last year how he would deport mixed-status families.
He told The Washington Post that any separation of the family was the fault of the parents, stating: “Here’s the issue. You knew you were in the country illegally and chose to have a child. So you put your family in that position.”
Trump has been set on strengthening the US borders since he took office on January 20, and has been clear that he’ll be strict on enforcing deportation.
UNILAD contacted the White House for comment.