After public outcry, Trump administration says it is reconsidering deporting seriously ill immigrants
Following outrage from the public and doctors, the Trump administration on Monday said it is rethinking its decision to deport immigrants who are dealing with life-threatening illnesses.
Under its deferred action program, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency let undocumented immigrants avoid deportation if they or family members were undergoing medical treatment for serious illnesses. To participate, immigrants had to request a renewal every two years. On Aug. 7, the program was ended without any public notice, and immigrants who recently made requests were sent letters telling them the agency was no longer accepting the requests, and they would face deportation if they didn't leave the U.S. within 33 days.
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Several of the immigrants who received letters have participated in clinical studies and drug trials, including Maria Isabel Bueso, 24. She has a rare genetic disease, and when she was a child, doctors in the U.S. asked if she could come from Guatemala and participate in a drug trial. Thanks to Bueso, a treatment was discovered for her disease, and has extended the life span of a typical patient. This treatment is not available in Guatemala, and her doctors told the Times without her medication, Bueso, whose parents have private insurance and cover all of her health-care costs, will die.
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