Last week, Congresswoman Luz Rivas co-led 35 House Representatives with Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff in urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to reconsider the termination of the legal status of a 4-year-old Bakersfield girl and her family.
The young girl, identified by her initials S.G.V., suffers from a life-threatening condition known as short bowel syndrome. The interruption to her treatment at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles doctors said there was no question, if deported, she would die within days.
In 2023, the young girl and her family were given temporary permission to enter the United States on humanitarian grounds so that S.G.V. could receive medical care. In April, President Donald Trump’s administration revoked the family’s admission to the country, ordering them to self-deport to Mexico.
“We urge you to reconsider the termination of S.G.V. and her family’s legal status,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Noem. “We believe this family’s situation clearly meets the need for humanitarian aid and urge you and this administration to reconsider its decision. It is our duty to protect the sick, vulnerable and defenseless.”
DHS has since reversed its decision, granting the family humanitarian parole for one year.
“This 4-year-old girl and her family should have never been caught in the middle of this literal life or death situation to begin with,” said Rivas in a statement following DHS’s decision.
“This situation is a prime example of the Trump administration being unfit, unprepared and unqualified to handle immigration policy decisions with empathy and compassion. No one should have to go through what this administration just put this family through. We can, and must, do better to take care of our most vulnerable and defenseless.”