SAN ANTONIO – A 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy at a shelter in San Antonio is now the focus of a fight between her family and the U.S. government.
Rosamaria Hernandez was rushed from Laredo to Corpus Christi on Tuesday for emergency surgery.
TRENDING: Second woman accuses George H.W. Bush of grabbing her backside
Her family was stopped at a checkpoint in Freer, where federal immigration officials learned she was in the country illegally.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents escorted Hernandez and a family member — who is also in the country illegally — to Corpus Christi, where she was allowed to undergo surgery.
After Hernandez was cleared to be released from the hospital, she was brought to San Antonio, where relatives living in the country legally offered to take custody of her to make sure she gets the post-op treatment doctors ordered.
ON KSAT.COM: Off-duty SAPD officer charged with DWI
“We pointed this out to the ICE officials, indicating we had two sponsors who were ready, willing and able, but they just refused to allow the child to go home,” family attorney Leticia Gonzalez.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told KSAT that according to immigration laws, once Hernandez is medically cleared, she will be processed accordingly.
They said the Mexican consulate in San Antonio had been advised of the situation.
