Left Behind in Texas, Teen Provides Lifesaving Help to Deported Sister Recovering From a Brain Tumor

Earlier this month, Mexican officials announced that more than 75,000 Mexican nationals have been repatriated since President Donald Trump returned to the White House on Jan. 20.

Among the thousands deported or forced to return on their own is a Texas family with a daughter recovering from a rare brain tumor, a case that drew national attention in February, when the girl's parents and four of her siblings were deported to Mexico while making their way to Houston for an emergency medical checkup.

For the past six months, the oldest of the six siblings and the only family member still in the United States, has taken on the responsibility of buying lifesaving medication for his 11-year-old sister and sending it to Mexico, since the specialist doctors overseeing her recovery and prescribing her treatment are all based in the U.S., making it impossible for her to receive the same care at home.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News, the 18-year-old, who asked to remain anonymous out of concern for his family's safety after they were sent to an area of Mexico known for kidnappings of U.S. citizens, said his family's absence has left him as the only lifeline helping to fight his sister's illness.

"At any moment, that brain tumor can come back, as her doctors said. That's why she needs to keep getting the medicine that I buy," he told NBC News.

He revealed that after his family was deported, he had to give up his dream of going to college and becoming a neurosurgeon. Instead, he now works two jobs — one at a fast-food restaurant during the day and another at a gas station overnight — to pay for his sister's medication.

"It's not cheap. At one point, it was like $300," he said. "The insurance doesn't cover it, so I'm paying for everything."

Family still waiting on humanitarian parole

As NBC News reported earlier this year, the parents and five of their children were deported by immigration authorities after stopping at a checkpoint on Feb. 3. The family was taken to a detention facility and sent back to Mexico the next day, despite the girl's medical condition and the fact that four of the children are U.S. citizens.

Amid worsening health conditions due to the lack of proper treatment in Mexico, the girl's mother told NBC News in June that the family applied for humanitarian parole through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) but has yet to receive a response.

Danny Woodward, the family's attorney and a member of the Texas Civil Rights Project, said the request asks for temporary entry and residence in the United States for the undocumented parents and the girl's noncitizen sibling.

According to its website, USCIS says applicants requesting humanitarian parole may demonstrate urgency by establishing a reason to be in the U.S. that requires immediate action, including critical medical treatment or the need to visit, assist or support a seriously ill relative. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, however, previously told NBC News that reports surrounding the family's situation are "inaccurate" and declined to comment on the specifics, citing privacy concerns.

According to a civil rights complaint cited in NBC News reporting, the family alleges that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) "committed serious abuses" against the family by denying access to medical care for a U.S. citizen child with "grave and complex" medical needs. The complaint also accuses CBP of making inappropriate sexual remarks to minors in custody, threatening parents with permanent separation from their children, and forcing U.S. citizen children with severe medical conditions to return to Mexico, where they cannot access adequate care.

According to Woodward, aside from lacking valid immigration status, the parents have no criminal history and were in the process of obtaining T visas, a temporary immigration benefit available to victims of human trafficking.

"This case really emphasizes that the administration is using its resources to crack down on people who are often the backbone of our economy — the folks who do things like pack our produce and pick our vegetables," Woodward told NBC News.