Joaquin Castro: ICE Detention of 10-year-old Girl With Cerebral Palsy ‘unacceptable'

WASHINGTON -- Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro has called on immigration officials to release an undocumented 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy who was apprehended at a hospital and brought to a San Antonio shelter for deportation proceedings Tuesday.“It’s unacceptable for a young child with serious medical needs to be held in a facility that is not capable of providing the care she requires,” the San Antonio Democrat told reporters on a call Thursday morning. “This is a perfect example of the callous policies of the Trump administration.”Rosa Maria Hernandez of Laredo was apprehended at a Border Patrol checkpoint in an ambulance on her way to Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi on Tuesday. Border Patrol agents allowed her to proceed, but followed her and her American-born cousin to the hospital and waited outside her room for her to be discharged. The agents, joined by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, brought her to a San Antonio shelter run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement to begin deportation proceedings.“It’s stunning that federal agents would be waiting outside the hospital room of a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. They are treating her like a hardened convict who’s been taken to the hospital for treatment,” Castro said. “Immigration arrests have increased 40 percent under President Donald Trump. Castro also emphasized that this happened despite ICE and CBP’s sensitive location policy -- that immigration enforcement at schools, hospitals and religious buildings or ceremonies should be avoided -- still being in effect. "DHS claims to be prioritizing its apprehension, but Rosa Maria is not a threat to anyone's safety," he said. "They have contradicted some of their own policies... it goes to show they aren't prioritizing criminals or national security threats, they're going after children."The girl’s mother, Felipa De La Cruz, is also undocumented and fears that her daughter does not understand what is going on around her. “I feel more at peace now that I see her,” De La Cruz said. “But it is difficult when I think about her, I start to get sad and become desperate.”The Border Patrol stood its their actions.“Travelers that present themselves for immigration inspections at our checkpoints are inspected thoroughly and expeditiously,” a Customs and Border Patrol spokesman told The Guardian. “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.”Laredo Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar also weighed in, saying he is asking CBP to look into whether the girl can be released to her parents or is recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.“I understand that CBP has a tremendous duty to protect our nation but we should be devoting our resources and focus on bigger threats," he said in a statement. "It is my hope that Rosa Maria will be paroled into the custody of her family once her immigration hearing has been scheduled."  Continue reading...