{"id":22093,"date":"2026-02-15T19:18:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T19:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=22093"},"modified":"2026-02-15T19:18:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T19:18:37","slug":"us-teen-who-pushed-for-her-fathers-release-from-ice-custody-dies-of-cancer-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=22093","title":{"rendered":"US teen who pushed for her father\u2019s release from ICE custody dies of cancer | Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/chicago\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Chicago<\/a> teenager, whose father was detained by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/usimmigration\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">immigration<\/a> authorities while she navigated cancer, died on Friday, a family spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Ofelia Torres, a 16-year-old in Chicago, had been undergoing treatment for an aggressive and rare form of cancer since late 2024. As she and her family struggled with the medical procedures, her father, Ruben Torres Maldonado, was detained by immigration authorities while at a Home Depot in October, leading to a contentious and public case that highlighted the human effects of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/trump-administration\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Trump administration<\/a>\u2019s aggressive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/oct\/03\/my-travels-through-chicago-tear-gas-resistance-and-trumps-big-immigration-crackdown\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">immigration crackdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Torres Maldonado\u2019s arrest and detention was illegal, a judge <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/oct\/26\/ice-detained-chicago-man-daughter-cancer\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">later ruled<\/a> in late October. He was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/10\/30\/us\/release-chicago-immigration-daughter-cancer\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">released<\/a> from custody on 30 October.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Last year, the Trump administration launched <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/nov\/19\/trump-chicago-immigration-raid\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Operation Midway Blitz<\/a>, a surge in immigration enforcement arrests in Chicago, with officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/ice-us-immigration-and-customs-enforcement\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">ICE<\/a>), border patrol and other federal agencies descending on the city to drive up arrests.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Torres Maldonado was arrested by authorities and detained in an immigration jail amid the operation. Ofelia had been enjoying a temporary break from treatment for stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer that develops in skeletal muscles, when her father was detained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A public GoFundMe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gofundme.com\/f\/stand-with-ofelia-support-her-family-now\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">page<\/a> highlighting the Torres family\u2019s story in October included a video by Ofelia talking about her dad and the effect of his arrest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI find it so unfair that hardworking immigrant families are being targeted<br \/>because they were not born here,\u201d Ofelia said in the video. The Torres family were able to secure resources to help with their situation. \u201cSadly, that\u2019s not the case for all families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m making this video: to spread awareness and remind the public that immigrants are humans with families and deserve to be treated with love and respect, just like anyone else,\u201d Ofelia added.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"4c46ba44-ad2d-4409-8d15-1c59ab36129d\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-fd61eq\"><span class=\"dcr-1inf02i\"><svg width=\"18\" height=\"13\" viewbox=\"0 0 18 13\"><path d=\"M18 3.5v8l-1.5 1.5h-15l-1.5-1.5v-8l1.5-1.5h3.5l2-2h4l2 2h3.5l1.5 1.5zm-9 7.5c1.9 0 3.5-1.6 3.5-3.5s-1.6-3.5-3.5-3.5-3.5 1.6-3.5 3.5 1.6 3.5 3.5 3.5z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Sandibell Hidalgo, left, and Ofelia Torres, right, speak about the detention of Ruben Torres Maldonado during a press conference on 22 October 2025.<\/span> Photograph: AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Torres family\u2019s story led to widespread condemnation and backlash against the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/trump-administration\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Trump administration<\/a> for their crackdown targeting families. Ofelia\u2019s family received legal assistance, filing and pushing for his release.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In response to the Chicago Tribune when the family\u2019s story came to light, homeland security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2025\/10\/21\/ice-arrests-chicago-man-teenage-daughter-cancer\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">accused<\/a> Ofelia\u2019s father of \u201chabitual driving offenses\u201d. She called his legal case \u201cnothing more than a desperate hail Mary attempt\u201d to keep him in the US with his family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Days before Ofelia died, a judge ruled that Torres Maldonado\u2019s deportation would be blocked, due to the hardship it would bring his family, opening the door to a potential pathway to permanent residence and eventual citizenship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cOfelia was heroic and brave in the face of ICE\u2019s detention and threatened<br \/>deportation of her father,\u201d the family\u2019s attorney said in a statement. \u201cWe mourn Ofelia\u2019s passing, and we hope that she will serve as a model for us all for how to be courageous and to fight for what\u2019s right to our last breaths.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2025\/10\/21\/ice-arrests-chicago-man-teenage-daughter-cancer\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Chicago Tribune<\/a>, Ofelia completed a school project on the high cost of healthcare in the US. As a result, her teacher introduced her to an Illinois state representative.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cShe is smart, funny, inquisitive, engaging. We just talked about state healthcare policy,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/illinois\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Illinois<\/a> state representative Laura Faver Dias said at the time. \u201cWe talked about her fears, our shared fears about what happens to Medicaid for her and her family as she is navigating cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>#teen #pushed #fathers #release #ICE #custody #dies #cancer #Chicago<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Chicago teenager, whose fath&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22093"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}