The teenage daughter of a Chicago man detained by immigration authorities has died after a battle with stage 4 cancer, a family spokesperson told ABC7.
The video in the player above is from previous reporting.
Ruben Torres Maldonado’s 16-year-old daughter, Ofelia Giselle Torres Hidalgo, was detained by federal immigration agents outside a Home Depot in Niles on Oct. 18, shortly after returning home from the hospital for treatment for stage 4 cancer.
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Torres returned to Chicago’s Northwest Side in October after being released from Homeland Security custody and spoke to ABC7.
His daughter Ophelia continues to battle cancer, with more treatments scheduled over the past few months. She told ABC7 her battle became easier when her father returned to her and enjoyed quality time together.
“We spend time together just goofing off, honestly, just watching movies, eating together, just simple things,” she said in October. “I’m glad he’s back. It was a really tough two weeks without him.”
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“Three days before Ophelia’s death, an immigration judge in Chicago ruled that Ophelia’s father, Ruben Torres Maldonado, was conditionally entitled to a ‘cancellation of deportation’ because his deportation would cause hardship to his U.S. citizen children, providing him with a path to lawful permanent residence and ultimately U.S. citizenship,” a family spokesperson said in a statement Saturday. “Ophelia attended her father’s hearing via Zoom to witness the family’s victory.”
“Ophelia acted heroically in the face of ICE detention and threats to deport her father,” Torres’ attorney, Kalman Resnick, said in a statement. “We mourn the passing of Ophelia, and we hope she will serve as an example to all of us on how to be brave and fight to the end.”
This is a development story.
