This gravely ill girl has been ordered to leave the US by the White House – but doctors say she could die within days
In a lawyer’s office in downtown Los Angeles, a little girl sits at a desk made for adults – tiny trainers dangling off the edge of a swivel chair.
She’s surrounded by dozens of TV cameras but has no understanding of why she’s suddenly the centre of attention.
Sofia, whose real name we are not using, is a gravely ill four-year-old caught in the crosshairs of Donald Trump’s sweeping and often indiscriminate immigration policy.
Sofia was born with short bowel syndrome, a debilitating and life-threatening condition
The White House has ordered she leaves the US immediately, but Sofia’s doctors at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles say that – if she is sent back to her home country of Mexico and her treatment stops – she could die within days.
As Sofia places rainbow stickers carefully in a book and plays snap, the lawyers fighting for her to remain in the US speak at a podium on her behalf.
“We’re sending them to die,” Gina Amato Lough, a lawyer for the pro bono firm Public Counsel, says.
“That’s not justice and it doesn’t make us any safer. We cannot let our country turn its back on this child.”
Sofia wears a backpack for 14 hours at night and four hours during the day which keeps her alive – containing nutrients she can’t absorb naturally.
It is cutting-edge healthcare only available in the US.
Sofia wears a backpack – containing nutrients she can’t absorb naturally
She was born with short bowel syndrome, a debilitating and life-threatening condition that meant she spent most of the first two years of her life in hospital.
Under the Biden administration, Sofia and her mother Deysi entered the US legally in July 2023 – granted humanitarian parole to access medical care for two years.
But in April – three months into Donald Trump’s presidency – the 28-year-old received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security, informing her that the family’s right to stay in the country was being revoked.
“It is time to leave the United States,” the first line of the letter reads.
Sofia’s mother said: ‘It’s always in my mind that my daughter can die’
“Even before getting the letters, I would hear in the news how many people are being deported, even with humanitarian paroles, and I worried a lot,” Deysi says.
“I was always walking down the street looking over my shoulder, there is so much fear and so much anxiety, it’s very hard.
“It’s always in my mind that my daughter can die. It may not sound real, but it is really what will happen if my daughter is not connected to her treatment.”
Sofia’s lawyers warn that if there is an interruption to her treatment, her doctors say it could be “fatal within days”.
Sofia and her mother Deysi entered the US legally from Mexico in July 2023. Pic: Jeremy Cohen/Public Counsel
The lawyers have written to officials within the Trump administration, but say they haven’t heard back yet.
“It seems as if nobody noticed that this child is four years old and that she will die without her treatment,” Ms Lough says.
“And not only have they not responded, but they have continued sending notices to the family verifying that their status has been cancelled and that they are required to leave the United States immediately.
“Sofia’s doctors have been clear that she will die within days. Deporting this family under these conditions is not only unlawful, it constitutes a moral failure that violates the basic tenets of humanity and decency.”
Read more US news:
US court blocks Trump’s sweeping tariffs
Elon Musk leaves role in administration
Doctors have warned Sofia could die within days if she is deported from the US. Pic: Deysi Vargas
In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said: “Any reporting that [the family] are actively being deported are FALSE. This family applied for humanitarian parole on May 14, 2025, and the application is still being considered.”
When approached by Sky News, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan denied specific knowledge of Sofia’s case, but said he would instruct the White House press office to “look into” the circumstances.
For now, Sofia is a tiny symbol of the human casualties of often unbending and ruthless immigration policy.
US
‘We will treat them EXACTLY how we treated al Qaeda’ – US carries out another lethal strike in Caribbean
The US military has carried out a fresh strike on what it claims are drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea – as tensions with Venezuela remain high.
Secretary for War Pete Hegseth announced the strike on Saturday, claiming the vessel was operated by a US-designated terrorist organisation, but did not name which group was targeted.
He said three people were killed.
“This vessel – like EVERY OTHER – was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” he said.
It’s at least the 15th strike by the US in the Caribbean or eastern Pacific since early September – operations that Venezuela has said amount to murder and whose legal justification is unclear.
At least 64 people have now been killed in the strikes.
The rhetoric coming out of the White House, coupled with the presence of American military ships in the region, has raised questions about a possible armed conflict between the US and Venezuela.
American politicians have repeatedly demanded more information from the Trump administration about the legal basis for the strikes, as well as more details about the cartels they have allegedly targeted.
“These narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans at home – and they will not succeed,” Mr Hegseth said on Saturday.
“The Department will treat them EXACTLY how we treated Al-Qaeda. We will continue to track them, map them, hunt them, and kill them.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Venezuela claims Trump creating ‘fables’ to justify ‘war’
Read more:
Is Trump preparing to go to war with Venezuela?
Satellite images show US military edging closer to Venezuela
President Donald Trump has accused Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro of leading an organised crime gang – without providing evidence – and declined to answer when questioned if the CIA has the authority to assassinate him.
In return, the Venezuelan leader has accused Mr Trump of seeking regime change and of “fabricating a new eternal war” against his country, as he appealed to the American people for peace.
A number of US navy vessels are in the region and the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier – the largest warship in the world – is also moving closer to Venezuela as speculation persists about possible further military action.
US
Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney apologises to Donald Trump over anti-tariff advert featuring Ronald Reagan
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has apologised to Donald Trump over an anti-tariff advert featuring a clip of Ronald Reagan.
Speaking at the Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea, he also said he had reviewed the commercial and told Ontario Premier Doug Ford not to air it.
“I did apologise to the president,” Mr Carney said on Saturday, confirming earlier comments made by the US president on Friday.
“I told [Doug] Ford I did not want to go forward with the ad,” he added.
The private conversation with Mr Trump happened at a dinner hosted by South Korea’s president on Wednesday.
The commercial, commissioned by Mr Ford, included a quote from Republican former president Ronald Reagan saying that tariffs cause trade wars and economic disaster.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
TV advert deepens trade rift between Trump and Canada
Mr Trump said the advert was misleading and, in response, announced that he was increasing tariffs on goods from Canada and halting trade talks with Canada.
In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now.”
It prompted the Ontario premier to pull the ad.
On Friday, the US president expressed his irritation at the advert but also told reporters he had accepted Mr Carney’s apology.
“I like him [Carney] a lot but what they did was wrong,” he said.
“He apologised for what they did with the commercial because it was a false commercial.”
But, critically, he added that the US and Canada will not restart trade talks.
Mr Ford has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s tariffs and trade policies, which are hurting Ontario’s carmakers and steel industry.
Read more from Sky News:
Trump says China tariffs will be cut
How tariffs would hit UK film sector
Is Trump heading for a third term?
The ad by the Ontario government has a voiceover of Ronald Reagan criticising tariffs on foreign goods while saying they cause job losses and trade wars.
The video uses five complete sentences from a five-minute weekly address recorded in 1987, but edited together out of order.
The ad does not mention that the former US president was explaining that tariffs imposed on Japan by his administration should be seen as a sadly unavoidable exception to his basic belief in free trade as the key to prosperity.
Meanwhile, Mr Carney said his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday were a turning point in relations after years of tensions.
He also met Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on the sidelines of the summit.
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024