Teen daughter of a Chicago man detained in an immigration case dies from a rare cancer

The Impact of Teen daughter of a Chicago man detained in an immigration case dies from a rare cancer

A Chicago teen who spoke out for her father's release after he was detained last fall by immigration officials in a deportation case has died after battling a rare form of cancer.

Ofelia Giselle Torres Hidalgo, 16, died Friday from stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. Funeral arrangements are private.

The teenager had been diagnosed in December with the aggressive form of soft tissue cancer and had been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

An immigration judge ruled three days before Ofelia's death that her father was conditionally entitled to receive cancellation of removal. The ruling provides Torres Maldonado with a path to becoming a lawful permanent resident and eventual U.S. citizenship.

Ofelia was present at the hearing via Zoom.

Ofelia was heroic and brave in the face of ICE's detention and threatened deportation of her father, said Kalman Resnick, Torres Maldonado's attorney. 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.

Torres Maldonado was detained October 18 at Home Depot in suburban Chicago.

Ofelia appeared in October in a video posted on a GoFundMe page set up for the family.

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