4-Year-Old Girl Facing Deportation Could Die Without U.S. Medical Care, Lawyers Say

A four-year-old Mexican girl receiving life-saving treatment in Los Angeles could die within days if deported, her lawyers and medical team are warning. The child, identified only as S.G.V. or Sofia, suffers from short bowel syndrome—a rare condition that prevents her from absorbing nutrients through regular food. She survives through Total Parenteral Nutrition (TPN), a complex intravenous treatment unavailable outside the United States.

"If they deport us and take away my daughter's access to her specialized care, she will die," her mother, Deysi Vargas, said during a press conference.

Sofia receives TPN for at least 14 hours each night at home and wears a portable version in a backpack during the day, as NBC News explains. Her condition also requires around-the-clock attention. "The doctors that are treating her have stated very clearly that if her treatment is interrupted, she will die within days," said Gina Amato, an attorney from Public Counsel representing the family.

The family entered the U.S. legally in July 2023 through the now-defunct CBP One app and was granted humanitarian parole to seek medical treatment. Sofia was initially hospitalized in San Diego before being referred to Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where she has been treated for the past year.

"Now, with the help my daughter receives in the United States, my daughter has the opportunity to leave the hospital, see the world, and live like a child her age," Vargas said.

In April, the Department of Homeland Security revoked the family's humanitarian parole and work authorization, instructing them to self-deport immediately. The DHS notice cited "discretion" as the reason and made no mention of the child's medical condition. The family's lawyers believe this decision was made without individual assessment.

"If the government conducted an individualized assessment, as required by law, they would see the need for Sofia to remain in the U.S.," said Rebecca Brown, another attorney for the family, to The Guardian.

A senior DHS official told NBC News the family's new application for humanitarian parole, submitted on May 14, is still under review and that "reports about the family actively being deported are FALSE." Nevertheless, the family is now without legal status or work authorization. "They're in limbo, and they're terrified," said Amato. "This is a classic example where deportation would equal death for this child."