As the Trump Administration continues separating families and driving fear into vulnerable communities in its quest to “Make America Great,” we’ve learned the true extent of the government’s cruelty. Thought President Donald Trump presents his draconian immigration policies as a way to keep the country safe, earlier in the year he put a target on a larger number of undocumented immigrants – even those without criminal records. On Wednesday, immigration officials detained Rosa María Hernández, a 10-year-old undocumented immigrant with cerebral palsy who poses no threat to national security.
Earlier this week, the young girl rode to the hospital in an ambulance for an emergency gall bladder surgery. Border Patrol stopped the vehicle at a checkpoint, before allowing them to continue making their way to Driscoll Children’s Hospital. The immigration officials followed the ambulance the nearly 150 miles to the hospital and then waited to pounce outside of her hospital room. After her surgery, the agents detained her and moved her to a children’s shelter, away from her family. According to The New York Times, her cousin, Aurora Cantu, a US citizen, rode in the ambulance with her. Agents first tried to get her family to sign a voluntary departure form so that she could seek treatment in Mexico, but they refused.
Rosa’s mom, Felipa de la Cruz, 39, said that her family moved from Nuevo Laredo to Texas when her daughter was just three months old. They crossed the border in hopes of getting her better medical care. Currently, Rosa is being held in a facility usually reserved for unaccompanied minors whose parents aren’t living in the country.
As her story garners national attention and sparks outrage, Felipa has spoken out. “This is like torture,” she said, according to Think Progress. “I was anxious that no one would be with her. Yesterday, Rosa María indicated she wants to come home to me… It’s very difficult when I think about her. I start to become sad, and I start to become desperate.”
The young girl’s case may be processed in the next 60 to 90 days. As she recovers from surgery, she still requires medical attention. Doctors said she’s due back in the hospital in three days. In the meantime, people are fighting for Rosa through the hashtag #FreeRosa and directing others to call the San Antonio Field Office and to sign petitions to keep her from being deported: