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The federal government has released a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy to her family, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Rosa Maria Hernandez and her parents had been living in Laredo, Texas — in the U.S. without permission — and the Border Patrol had taken her into custody as she was transported through a checkpoint on her way to a Corpus Christi hospital for emergency surgery. Federal authorities held her at a facility for children, rather than letting her return to her parents. She has been in deportation proceedings.

NPR's John Burnett has reported that Rosa Maria was picked up by the Border Patrol while riding in an ambulance with her cousin, who is a U.S. citizen.


A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, which runs the facility where Rosa Maria was in custody, said the agency could not comment on specific cases because of privacy concerns.  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.



A previous headline incorrectly said ICE had detained Rosa Maria Hernandez. It was the Border Patrol that did so.

Crime, Law and Justice

Associated Press

Author

U.S. authorities on Friday released a 10-year-old immigrant girl with cerebral palsy who had been detained by border agents after surgery because she is in the U.S. without legal permission.

Girl detained by ICE after emergency surgery released to parents

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