Teen girl whose Chicago father was detained in an immigration case dies from a rare cancer
A Chicago teenager who spoke out for the release of his father, who was detained by immigration officials in a deportation case last fall, has died after battling a rare form of cancer.
Ofelia Giselle Torres HidalgoIn the statement made by the family, it was stated that the 16-year-old boy died of stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma on Friday. Funeral arrangements are private.
Ganja was diagnosed with aggressive soft tissue cancer in December 2024 and was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Three days before Ofelia’s death, an immigration judge in Chicago said her father Ruben Torres MaldonadoAccording to a statement sent by a lawyer representing Torres Maldonado, he had a conditional right to a “cancellation of deportation” due to the difficulties that would be created by the deportation of his children, who were born in the United States and are U.S. citizens.
The decision provides Torres Maldonado with a path to becoming a legal permanent resident and eventually gaining U.S. citizenship, the statement said.
Ofelia appeared at last week’s hearing via Zoom.
“Ofelia acted heroically and courageously in the face of ICE’s arrest and threatened to deport her father,” said Kalman Resnick, Torres Maldonado’s attorney. “We mourn the passing of Ofelia and hope that she will serve as a model for all of us on how to be brave and fight for what is right until our last breath.”
Torres Maldonado, a painter and home renovator, was detained at a Home Depot store in suburban Chicago on October 18 as the area was at the center of a major incident. immigration pressure The operation, called “Operation Midway Blitz”, began in early September.
Ofelia was receiving treatment and appeared in a video posted on a GoFundMe page set up for the family in October.
“My father, like many other fathers, is a hardworking person who gets up early in the morning and goes to work without complaining, thinking about his family,” he said in the video. “I find it very unfair that hard-working immigrant families are targeted just because they were not born here.”
in a wheelchair, He attended his father’s hearing in October. The family’s lawyers told the judge at the time that his father was released from the hospital so he could see his family and friends just the day before his arrest. They added that Ofelia was unable to continue treatment “due to stress and disruption”.
Torres Maldonado’s lawyers petitioned for his release while his deportation case was going through the system. A judge ordered a bail hearing in October after ruling that his detention was unlawful and violated Torres Maldonado’s due process rights.
A judge later noted Torres Maldonado’s lack of criminal history while allowing him to be released on $2,000 bail..
Torres Maldonado entered the United States in 2003, lawyers said. He and his partner, Sandibell Hidalgo, also have a young son.
The Department of Homeland Security had alleged that the man had been living in the United States illegally for years and had a history of driving offenses, including driving without a valid license, driving without insurance and speeding.
For more CNN news and newsletters, create an account at: CNN.com
