The Chicago teen who fought to have her father released from ICE custody after he was detained in Niles, Illinois, last October has died.
Ofelia Torres, 16, died on Friday from Stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer that develops in skeletal muscles, according to a family spokesperson.
The teen outlined her battle with cancer last year in a YouTube video and how it affected her family. Ofelia, in the video, also mentioned that she is the daughter of immigrants. Her father, Ruben, was detained by immigration officers while at a Niles Home Depot parking lot on Oct. 18. Reuben had no criminal history other than previous minor traffic offenses.
A judge ruled his rights were violated when he was detained without a bond hearing. He was later released on a $2,000 bond as his deportation case makes its way through the system. His lawyer said Ruben was the main parent who watched her brother while she received treatment.
The spokesperson for the family said that three days before Ofelia’s death, an immigration judge in Chicago ruled that Ofelia’s father was conditionally entitled to receive “cancellation of removal” due to the hardships his deportation would cause his children, who are U.S. citizens, providing him with a pathway to lawful permanent residence and eventually U.S. citizenship. She witnessed the ruling via Zoom.
“Ofelia was heroic and brave in the face of ICE’s detention and threatened deportation of her father,” said Ruben’s attorney, Kalman Resnick. “We mourn Ofelia’s passing, and we hope that she will serve as a model for us all for how to be courageous and to fight for what’s right to our last breaths.”
Ofelia was a junior and attended Lake View High School.
Private funeral arrangements have been made.
Three days before her death, an immigration judge in Chicago ruled that Ofelia’s father, Ruben Torres Maldonado, was conditionally entitled to receive “cancellation of removal” due to the hardships his deportation would cause his U.S. citizen children, providing him with a pathway to lawful permanent residence and eventually U.S. citizenship. Ofelia was present via Zoom at her father’s hearing to witness her family’s victory
Ruben Torres’s story received a tidal wave of national attention, in part because of a video Ofelia posted shortly after his arrest calling for his release.
“Ofelia was heroic and brave in the face of ICE’s detention and threatened deportation of her father,” said Kalman Resnick, the attorney representing Mr. Torres. “We mourn Ofelia’s passing, and we hope that she will serve as a model for us all for how to be courageous and to fight for what’s right to our last breaths.”
Ofelia was a junior at Lake View High School in Chicago. Private funeral arrangements have been made.
A GoFundMe page to support the family remains active here.