On Tuesday, October 24th, a ten-year-old girl with cerebral palsy was detained by Border Control while undergoing emergency gallbladder surgery. Her name is Rosa María Hernandez.  

Rosa María, who is undocumented, was on the way to Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas when her ambulance was stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint. She was accompanied by her cousin, Aurora Cantu, a U.S. Citizen. Rosa’s doctors had given Cantu a notarized letter to give to the agents at the checkpoint to notify them that she was taking an undocumented child to the hospital for medical attention. Her mother was not with her for the same reason that Rosa was detained—she is undocumented.  

The Freer Border Patrol checkpoint was almost halfway to the hospital. It is nearly a 150-mile journey from Laredo, their home, to Corpus Christi. Upon inspection, Customs and Border Control “escorted” them for 80 miles until they got to the hospital. Rosa was terrified.  

Although Rosa was born ten years ago, her brain does not have the development of a typical 10- year old. Doctors and teachers say her developmental age is closer to that of a four or five-year-old. Basically, Rosa has the mindset of a child half her age. She has never been away from her parents and requires constant attention and care.  

Cerebral Palsy is defined as a congenital disorder that affects muscle tone, movement, balance, posture, and motor control. Symptoms include difficulty walking, involuntary movements, overactive reflexes, and muscle spasms.  Cerebral Palsy has many degrees of severity and is the most common childhood physical disability. Developmental symptoms include a learning disability, slow growth, speech delay and/or a speech disorder.  

Rosa’s mother, Felipa de la Cruz, brought Rosa to the U.S. from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico at three months old to receive better and more affordable medical care. Rosa would not have lived past her first day if it hadn’t been for a blood transfusion from a woman named Rosa María. A single brain test cost 5 times the minimum wage at the time (300 pesos each) and Rosa had three of those tests a day. de la Cruz knew crossing the border (across the Rio Grande) was illegal, but the doctors had told her that her newborn baby would never be able to walk, speak, or feed herself; and Rosa’s father said that the U.S. might be able to help her. And it did; Rosa had access to speech, occupational, and physical therapy. Rosa is now able to walk and talk.

Federal agents stood outside Rosa’s door during surgery and did not allow the door to be closed while she was recovering. Her doctors said it was okay for her to leave but when Rosa saw the strange lawyers and agents she wanted to go back inside. The hospital discharge orders stated that Rosa should be released to a family member who is familiar with her condition while the deportation proceedings continued. However, Rosa was taken to the Baptist Children’s Home Ministries facility, a children’s immigration center in San Antonio. The center usually holds kids who come across the border alone.  

Her grandfather attempted to have Rosa María released into his custody but was denied by Customs and Border Protection. He is a legal permanent resident of the U.S. for 45 years, which is more than half his life at the age of 85. Aurora Cantu also tried to have Rosa released in her custody.  

According to Leticia Gonalez, the family attorney, Rosa did not know what was going on or why she was at the center. All Rosa wants is to be with her family. Unfortunately, de la Cruz is unable to see her daughter. “I told her that she was only there because she was recovering and once she was recovered she could come home with me” said de la Cruz, in Spanish. She continued, “It’s difficult. When I begin to think about her, I start to become sad. I become desperate.” 

“The Laredo Sector Border Patrol is committed to enforcing the immigration laws of this nation,” said a Border Patrol spokesman in a statement. “Due to the juvenile’s medical condition, Border Patrol agents escorted her and her cousin to a Corpus Christi hospital where she could receive appropriate medical care. Per the immigration laws of the United States, once medically cleared she will be processed accordingly.”  

The deportation process can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 90 days, and going through immigration court can take several years.  

Astrid Dominguez, a policy strategist for the ACLU of Texas, said that Border Control guarded her door like she posed some sort of threat. “[The Federal Agents] should still have exercised discretion with basic humanity and allowed her back to her parents.” At the time, it was unknown how long it would be until she was able to be with her parents.  

The American Civil Liberties Union started the hashtag campaign #FreeRosa, which sparked an outrage on social media, from members of Congress, and physicians and lawyers. On October 31st, the ACLU filed a lawsuit calling for the release of Rosa María. The ACLU also asked supporters to call the Office of Refugee Resettlement to demand the immediate release of Rosa so that she could recover from her surgery at home. Andre Segura, the legal director of the ACLU of Texas, said that “Rosa María should not have been detained for even a second. She was ripped from her family without authority by the federal government.” 

Advocates argued that Rosa should never have been detained because she had her parents and two sisters back in Laredo. In a statement, the ACLU said “Border Patrol’s decision to target a young girl at a children’s hospital is unconscionable and threatens to keep parents and sick children from seeking the health care they need if such practices are allowed.”  

The following Friday, on November 3rd, federal officials finally released Rosa to her family after being detained for 10 days. Her lawyers say that Rosa could still face deportation but no official charges have been filed. “It is the most outrageous case I have ever worked on,” said Michael Tan, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. Rosa is still traumatized from the ordeal, but she is at home, where she can heal surrounded by the love and support of her family.