'Heartbreaking': 4-Year-Old Who Came to US Legally Could Die Within Days If Deported

Yet another Trump administration deportation case is sparking outrage: This time, a 4-year-old Mexican girl and her parents face expulsion, despite the family coming to the United States legally and the child's risk of death if she loses the medical care she is receiving in California.

The Los Angeles Times on Tuesday shared the story of the family, which came to the United States on humanitarian grounds in 2023: the young girl, identified by her initials, S.G.V.; her mom, 28-year-old Deysi Vargas, who is also Mexican; and her 34-year-old dad, who is from Colombia.

They have been living in Bakersfield, and S.G.V. has been receiving care for her short bowel syndrome at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). However, the family received a letter last month stating that their legal status had been terminated and urging them to leave the United States of their own accord, to avoid deportation.

While spokespeople for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as well as CHLA declined to comment, the Times reported on a letter written by Dr. John Arsenault at the family's request:

If there is an interruption in her daily nutrition system, called Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN), the doctor wrote, "this could be fatal within a matter of days."

"As such, patients on home TPN are not allowed to leave the country because the infrastructure to provide TPN or provide immediate intervention if there is a problem with IV access depends on our program's utilization of U.S.-based healthcare resources and does not transfer across borders," Arsenault wrote.

"This is a textbook example of medical need," said the family's attorney, Rebecca Brown of the pro bono legal firm Public Counsel, who petitioned for continuation of their temporary humanitarian legal status. "This child will die and there's no sense for that to happen. It would just be a cruel sacrifice."

Readers of the reporting quickly called out U.S. President Donald Trump and other key officials in his administration, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, who was behind the family separation policy from Trump's first term.

"Heartbreaking: A 4-year-old came here legally with her family for lifesaving care. Yet Trump still seeks to deport her despite doctors warning she could die. It's cruel and inexcusable," said Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-Calif.), whose district is in Los Angeles County.

Adrian Carrasquillo, who writes the immigration-focused newsletter "Huddled Masses" at The Bulwark, an anti-Trump conservative outlet, stressed that "this is being done in our name."

The Trump administration has provoked legal battles and intense scrutiny for deporting various people in recent months, including multiple children who are U.S. citizens—among them, a 4-year-old cancer patient.