Critically Ill 4-Year-Old Girl Told To Deport, But Interrupting Her Treatment Could Mean Death

A critically ill 4-year-old girl living in California with her mother was asked to self-deport last month, but her lawyers and doctors say she could die if her treatment is interrupted.

Deysi Vargas, 28, and her daughter, identified by the pseudonym Sofia, arrived in the U.S. from Mexico in 2023, seeking better medical care to treat the young girl’s short bowel syndrome, a rare condition where a significant portion of the small intestine is missing or unable to function properly, according to reports from the Los Angeles Times.

Deysi Vargas and her daughter Sofia were notified to deport, but an interruption to the young girl's treatment could be fatal.

Jeremy Cohen / Courtesy of Public Counsel

“It is time for you to leave the United States,” The letter by the Department of Homeland Security reviewed by HuffPost read.

DHS warned Vargas that if she did not leave the U.S. immediately, she would be subject to potential law enforcement actions that would result in her removal unless she obtained a “lawful basis to remain.” In addition to the warning, DHS terminated any benefits connected with Vargas’ parole, such as work authorization.

Gina Amato, one of the family’s lawyers, told local CBS affiliate WSAW that Sofia and her mother “were not given any reason as to why” they were asked to self-deport and “were supposed to have parole through the end of July.”

The Department of Homeland Security told HuffPost that the family is not actively being deported and that they “applied with USCIS for humanitarian parole on May 14, 2025, and the application is still being considered.”

Sofia, 4, was diagnosed with short bowel syndrome,

Deysi Vargas

Vargas detailed her daughter’s treatment on GoFundMe, saying that due to her illness, she cannot take in nutrition on her own.

“Sofia receives intravenous nutrition 14 hours a day and needs to visit the hospital every six weeks. Without the treatment provided by Children’s Hospital [Los Angeles], Sofia will die,” Vargas wrote.

Speaking through a translator at a press conference Wednesday, Vargas said her daughter did not get any better when they lived in Mexico.

“Now, with the help that she’s received in the United States, my daughter has the opportunity to get out of the hospital, know the world and live like a normal girl of 4 years,” Vargas said.

Dr. John Arsenault, who sees Sofia regularly, said in a letter to the LA Times that if there is an interruption in Sofia’s daily nutrition system, called total parenteral nutrition (TPN), it could be fatal within a matter of days.

“As such, patients on home TPN are not allowed to leave the country because the infrastructure to provide TPN or provide immediate intervention if there is a problem with IV access depends on our program’s utilization of U.S. based healthcare resources and does not transfer across borders,” Arsenault wrote to the outlet.

Amato told reporters on Wednesday “deporting this family under these conditions is not only unlawful, it constitutes a moral failure that violates the basic tenets of humanity and decency.”