After a protracted controversy that made international headlines, a 4-year-old girl who was faced with a life-threatening deportation has been allowed to stay in the U.S. by the federal government.
The family’s legal team confirmed the news in a media release issued Tuesday evening.
The girl, who is going by the pseudonym Sofia to protect her identity, has short bowel syndrome, a condition that doesn’t allow her body to absorb nutrition on its own. Sofia’s family came to the U.S. in 2023 through a temporary humanitarian permission process so that she could receive the care she needs to stay alive, which is not available in her native Mexico.
That care includes 14 hours of IV nutrition per day along with four gastral tube feedings throughout the day that take about an hour, according to a family spokesperson. The family, who lives in Bakersfield, must travel to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles every six weeks for further treatment.
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A 4-year-old girl in the U.S. legally for treatment of a severe medical condition now faces the life-threatening risk of deportation to Mexico. (Deysi Vargas) -
A 4-year-old girl in the U.S. legally for treatment of a severe medical condition now faces the life-threatening risk of deportation to Mexico. (Deysi Vargas)
Some of the equipment Sofia uses to stay alive is affixed to a special backpack that she wears, but at a press conference late last month, one of the family’s lawyers said that the manufacturer of that equipment doesn’t allow it to travel outside the U.S., hence why the treatment is not available in Mexico.
But the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration resulted in Sofia’s medical protection being revoked, and the family was ordered to leave the United States on their own accord. The family’s humanitarian parole had originally been valid until July.
“I am very scared because Sofia runs the risk of not receiving the treatment that she requires for her condition, and if we return back to our county, she would be back at the hospital day and night,” Sofia’s mother, Deysi Vargas, said at last month’s press conference via a translator. “When we lived in Mexico, my daughter did not get any better…now, with the help that she’s received in the United States, my daughter has the opportunity to get out of the hospital, know the world and live like a normal girl of four years.”
Lawyers for the Vargas family said at the press conference they had written to the Trump administration to make them aware of the case and that the family had filed new documents for humanitarian parole but had yet to hear back.
Sofia’s fate hung in the balance until Tuesday, when the Vargases received an official notification from the United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) that their humanitarian parole was extended for a year and will expire on June 1, 2026. Deysi and Sofia had previously attended an appointment at the USCIS Bakersfield office on May 30.
“We commend USCIS for its responsiveness and for recognizing the urgency of the situation,” a statement from the family attorneys reads. “While we celebrate this victory, we cannot ignore the systemic challenges that brought Sofia to the brink. Her parole was terminated without warning, and for weeks there was no functional avenue to alert USCIS that a child’s life was in danger.”
“It took an international outcry and pressure from elected officials to get a response – something that used to take a single phone call,” the statement continued.
The family has not yet officially commented on the matter but is expected to do so soon.
