CHLA patient, 4, could die within days if deported; DHS says family's case is still being considered

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Attorneys for a 4-year-old girl and her family on Wednesday said that the child could possibly die within days if she is deported by the Trump administration and loses access to the lifesaving care provided to her by Children's Hospital Los Angeles. Federal officials later disputed the assertion that the family is "actively being deported."

Deysi Vargas' daughter has a severe medical condition called short bowel syndrome, according to Public Counsel, a nonprofit law firm that is representing her and her family.

To protect the child's privacy, she is being publicly identified only as Sofia Villa, a pseudonym. Her medical condition, which prevents her body from regularly absorbing nutrients, stems from a botched surgery that was performed after she was born in Mexico. She was allowed to enter the U.S. in 2023 on humanitarian grounds.

"Without appropriate medical care in the United States, her doctors at Children's Hospital LA say she will die," the family's attorneys said in an news release. "The family came to the U.S. under humanitarian parole, but in April, the Trump administration terminated their parole and ordered them to self-deport."

Reached by ABC7, a spokesperson for Children's Hospital Los Angeles declined to comment.

"If deported and removed from accessing her specialized medical care, Sofia's doctors have been clear that she will die within days," Gina Amato Lough, Public Counsel's directing attorney, said at a morning news conference at the firm's offices in Koreatown. "Deporting this family under these conditions is not only unlawful, it constitutes a moral failure that violates the basic tenets of humanity and decency."

Sofia's mother Deysi Vargas received a notice last month that Sofia's humanitarian parole and her parents' work permits were now revoked.

Vargas and her attorneys tried to explain the life-or-death situation to U.S. immigration official and re-applied for humanitarian parole, but all they've gotten from the government are more notices to leave the U.S. or face deportation.

In a statement provided to ABC7 on Wednesday afternoon, a senior official with the Department of Homeland Security said: "Any reporting that Vargas and her family are actively being deported are FALSE."

Referring to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency, the statement added: "This family applied with USCIS for humanitarian parole on May 14, 2025, and the application is still being considered."

In a statement posted on GoFundMe.com, Vargas said Sofia receives intravenous nutrition 14 hours a day and needs to visit the hospital every six weeks.

"Due to unexpected changes in our circumstances, we're navigating an urgent situation that could impact Sofia's continued medical treatment at Children's Hospital Los Angeles," the fundraiser statement said. "Any support during this uncertain and difficult time would mean the world to us and help us stay focused on her care."

As of Wednesday morning, about $17,000 had been raised.