A critically ill 4-year-old Mexican girl, Sofia, faces deportation from the U.S., despite doctors warning that halting her medical care could be deadly within days. The Trump administration has ordered her removal, according to her family and legal team.
Sofia, who has short bowel syndrome and requires constant medical attention, was granted temporary humanitarian entry into the U.S. in 2023. Born in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, she has needed feeding tubes 24/7 since birth. Since arriving in the U.S., her condition has improved significantly, but she still depends on daily treatment.
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Now, her future hangs in the balance. The Trump administration’s decision to deport her could cost her life, said attorney Rebecca Brown of Public Counsel. “This child will die and there’s no sense for that to happen. It would just be a cruel sacrifice,” she said.
The family lives in Bakersfield, California, more than 100 miles north of Los Angeles. Dr. John Arsenault from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, who treats Sofia every six weeks, confirmed the risks. “If there’s an interruption in administering nutrition, it could be fatal within a matter of days,” he wrote in a letter.
Dr. Arsenault emphasized that Sofia cannot safely leave the country. Her lifesaving treatment, called Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN), depends entirely on U.S. healthcare infrastructure. “The infrastructure to provide TPN or immediate intervention… does not transfer across borders,” he stated.
Sofia’s story began with complications from a premature birth and intestinal blockage. In Mexico, she underwent six surgeries, one of which removed too much of her intestine. A resulting blood infection nearly killed her.
Desperate for help, Vargas turned to the Biden administration’s CBP One app and secured a two-year protection status. When the family met with border agents in Tijuana on July 31, 2023, Sofia’s condition was visibly critical. Agents immediately referred her to Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, where her health began to stabilize.
By September 2024, she was well enough to go home, continuing treatment under the care of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, known for its top-tier gastroenterology program. The family settled in Bakersfield, where Vargas found work cleaning at a restaurant.
“It was incredible,” Vargas said. “I had waited so long for doctors to tell me, ‘Ma’am, your daughter is OK now. She can go home.’”
But Sofia’s care remains intensive. She spends 14 hours each night connected to an IV and receives medication through a gastric tube four times daily. At preschool, a nurse provides her with nutrition during the day.
Just as life was beginning to stabilize, immigration authorities sent the family a notice to leave the country, followed by a termination of Vargas’s work authorization. Their attorney believes this action was a mistake and has filed a petition to reinstate the family’s humanitarian legal status.
“This is the intended purpose — to help the most vulnerable who need attention here,” said Brown. “We can avoid having harmed the child and the family.”
Vargas says they’re not looking to stay in the U.S. permanently. “We just want to be here for as long as Sofia needs treatment,” she said.
