US teen who pushed for her father’s release from ICE custody dies of cancer | Chicago
A Chicago teenager whose father was detained by immigration authorities while he was battling cancer died Friday, a family spokesman said.
Ofelia Torres, a 16-year-old living in Chicago, had been receiving treatment for an aggressive and rare type of cancer since late 2024. While he and his family were undergoing medical procedures, his father, Ruben Torres Maldonado, was detained by immigration authorities while at Home Depot in October; This led to a contentious and public lawsuit highlighting the humanitarian impacts of the Trump administration’s aggressive crackdown on immigrants.
A judge later ruled in late October that Torres Maldonado’s arrest and detention were unlawful. he was launched He was taken from custody on October 30.
Last year, the Trump administration launched Operation Midway Blitz, a surge in immigration enforcement arrests in Chicago; Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Border Patrol and other federal agencies were descending on the city to increase arrests.
Torres Maldonado was arrested by authorities during the operation and detained in an immigration jail. Ofelia was temporarily taking a break from treatment for stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer that develops in skeletal muscles, when her father was taken into custody.
A public GoFundMe page Highlights of the Torres family story in October included a video of Ofelia speaking about her father and the impact of his arrest.
“I find it unfair that hard-working immigrant families are targeted
Because they weren’t born here,” Ofelia said in the video. The Torres family was able to find resources to help their situation. “Unfortunately, this is not true for all families.”
“That’s why I’m making this video: to spread awareness and remind the public that immigrants are people with families and they deserve to be treated with love and respect, just like everyone else,” Ofelia added.
The Torres family story has sparked widespread condemnation and backlash against the Trump administration for its crackdown targeting the families. Ofelia’s family obtained legal aid by appealing and pressing for her release.
In response to the Chicago Tribune when the family’s story came to light, Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin accused The father of Ofelia’s “habitual driving offences”. He called her lawsuit “nothing more than a desperate attempt to hail Mary” to keep her in the US with her family.
Days before Ofelia died, a judge ruled that Torres Maldonado’s deportation would be blocked because of the hardship it would pose to his family, opening the door to a potential path to permanent residence and eventual citizenship.
“Ofelia acted heroically and bravely in the face of ICE arrest and threat
“We mourn the passing of Ofelia and hope that she will be a model for all of us on how to be brave and fight for what is right until our last breath,” the family’s lawyer said in a statement.
according to Chicago TribuneOfelia completed a school project about the high cost of healthcare in the United States. As a result, his teacher introduced him to an Illinois state representative.
“He’s smart, he’s funny, he’s curious, he’s engaging. We just talked about the state’s health policy,” then-Illinois state representative Laura Faver Dias said. “We talked about her fears, our shared fears about what would happen to Medicaid for her and her family as she battled cancer.”
