Trump administration deports 10-year-old U.S. citizen and cancer survivor, interrupting her recovery treatment

The Trump administration has deported a 10-year-old U.S. citizen as she was receiving cancer treatment due to her parents being undocumented.

The family was on their way to an emergency medical checkup for their daughter when they were detained by immigration authorities and deported to Mexico. Cracking down on immigration was one of Donald Trump’s biggest campaign promises. Once elected, he quickly appointed Tom Homan as “border czar,” a vocal proponent for separating families as a deterrent for illegal immigration. However, for Trump’s second term, he promised to deport entire families, even if the children were U.S. citizens. The Trump administration has done just that, and the result is even crueler than one could’ve imagined.

Trump administration deports young cancer patient

According to NBC News, a family is fighting to return to the U.S. after they were deported amid their 10-year-old daughter’s cancer treatment. The outlet maintained the family’s anonymity for their safety. The unidentified girl was diagnosed with brain cancer last year and underwent surgery to remove the tumor. However, she is still in recovery, dealing with brain swelling and its effects on her speech and mobility, requiring periodic doctor visits to track her recovery, prescriptions, and rehabilitation.

The family traveled multiple times from Rio Grande City to Houston for doctor’s appointments. Previously, letters from doctors and lawyers were sufficient to get them through immigration checkpoints due to the necessity of their daughter’s medical access. However, in February, the letters suddenly weren’t accepted. Immigration agents detained the family, ignoring the mother’s desperate explanation about her daughter’s circumstances. After being taken to a detention center, the parents and five of their children (four of whom were born in the U.S.) were piled into a van and left in Mexico, searching for housing and shelter. They ended up settling in an area known for kidnapping U.S. citizens, which is why NBC had to withhold their identities.

They are now struggling to find adequate health care for their daughter and 15-year-old son, who has a heart condition. The future remains uncertain if they aren’t permitted back in the U.S. to get their children the care they need. The mother told NBC News, “The authorities have my children’s lives in their hands.” For context, the family has no criminal history and has been living and working in the U.S. for over 12 years, trying to provide a better life for their six children, one of whom remained in Texas following the family’s deportation. Their story isn’t an isolated incident. Recently, ICE also arrested an undocumented mother who was the primary caregiver to her daughter with cancer. In that case, the mother was granted release on bond, though it’s unclear how many cases like these there are when the Trump administration is cracking down on undocumented immigrants with no criminal history.

It’s arresting and deporting families who are just trying to care for their sick children and get them the medical care they need. In many of these cases, the children are U.S. citizens with the right to be here. The administration has yet to explain how kicking out 10-year-old cancer patients and disrupting their treatment is going to make America “great again.”