After a prolonged debate that made international headlines, the four-year-old girl faced a life-threatening deportation, was allowed by the federal government to remain in the United States.
The family legal team confirmed the news in a media release issued Tuesday evening.
The girl who goes to Sofia’s pseudonym Sofia to protect her identity has a short bowel syndrome. This is a state in which her body cannot absorb nutrients on its own. Sofia’s family came to the US in 2023 through a temporary humanitarian permit process, allowing her to receive the care she needs to stay alive and unavailable in Mexico, where she was born.
The care includes 14 hours of IV nutrition per day and four stomach tube feedings throughout the day, according to a family spokesperson. Families living in Bakersfield must travel to Los Angeles Children’s Hospital every six weeks for further treatment.
Legally for the treatment of severe medical conditions, a 4-year-old American girl faces life-threatening risk of deportation to Mexico. (Deysi Vargas) A 4-year-old American girl legally for the treatment of a severe medical condition is currently facing life-threatening risks of deportation to Mexico. (Deysi Vargas) A 4-year-old American girl legally for the treatment of a severe medical condition is currently facing life-threatening risks of deportation to Mexico. (Deysi Vargas)
Some of the equipment Sofia uses to keep her alive are stuck on the special backpack she wears, but at a press conference later last month, one of the family’s lawyers said why treatments are not available in Mexico as they do not allow the manufacturer of the equipment to move outside the United States.
Southern California boy was taken to ice at immigration hearing
However, the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration led to the revocation of Sofia’s medical protections, and the family was ordered to leave the United States on their own. Humanitarian parole for families was originally valid until July.
“I’m very scared because Sofia is at risk of not getting the treatment she needs for her condition. When she returns to the county, she will be back to the hospital day and night,” Sofia’s mother, Deysi Vargas, told a news conference last month through a translator. “When we lived in Mexico, my daughter didn’t get better… Now with the help she received in the US, my daughter has the opportunity to leave the hospital, get to know the world and live like a normal four-year-old girl.”
On the left, Deysi Vargas speaks to her 4-year-old daughter with short bowel syndrome at a press conference in Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, after her humanitarian parole ended and she was ordered to self-denial. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Vargas family’s lawyer said at a press conference that they wrote to the Trump administration to make the case aware, and that the family submitted new documents for humanitarian parole but had not responded yet.
Sofia’s fate rested on balance until Tuesday. On Tuesday, Vargas received an official notice from the US Citizens’ Immigration Service (USCIS) that his humanitarian parole will be extended for a year and expire on June 1, 2026. Deisi and Sofia previously attended the USCIS Bakersfield office on May 30th.
“We commend USCIS for its responsiveness and recognition of the urgency of the situation,” reads a statement from the family lawyer. “We cannot ignore the systemic challenges that have put Sofia on the brink of this victory. Her parole ended without warning. For weeks, there was no functional path to warn USCIS that a child’s life was at risk.”
“There was international protest and pressure from elected officials. We got a response. This was one call we had,” the statement continued.
The family has not yet formally commented on the issue, but it is expected that they will soon be.
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