Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26) joined Congresswoman Luz Rivas (CA-29), Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), California Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (CA), and 33 of her Democratic colleagues in urging U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to reconsider the termination of the legal status of S.G.V. (identified by her initials for privacy reasons). S.G.V. is a four-year-old girl in Bakersfield living with short bowel syndrome who is facing deportation and could die if she loses medical care at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. S.G.V. and her family’s story was highlighted in a May 27 Los Angeles Times article.
“We urge you to reconsider the termination of S.G.V. and her family’s legal status as S.G.V.’s doctors say she could die within days without treatment,” wrote the members. “Due to S.G.V.’s short bowel syndrome, she receives intensive medical treatments such as: being tethered to feeding tubes 24 hours a day; spending 14 hours each night being hooked up to an intravenous feeding system; and receiving a different type of nutrition via a gastric tube into her stomach four times a day. In 2023, S.G.V. and her family were allowed to enter the U.S. legally on humanitarian grounds.”
“Your Department has revoked this child’s legal status in the U.S., which interrupts the urgent, life-saving care she receives at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles every six weeks. We believe this family’s situation clearly meets the need for humanitarian aid and urge you and this Administration to reconsider its decision. It is our duty to protect the sick, vulnerable, and defenseless. Without action, S.G.V. will die. We urge a prompt response from your Department and a swift decision to extend this family’s legal status in the U.S.”
The letter was also co-signed by Representatives Nanette Barragán, Salud Carbajal, Greg Casar, Joaquin Castro, Judy Chu, Gilbert Cisneros, Maxine Dexter, Adriano Espaillat, Jim Costa, Veronica Escobar, Laura Friedman, Jesús “Chuy” García, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Pramila Jayapal, Teresa Leger Fernandez, Ted Lieu, Seth Magaziner, Robert Menendez, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Delia Ramirez, Andrea Salinas, Linda Sánchez, Lateefah Simon, Darren Soto, Jill Tokuda, Norma Torres, Derek Tran, Juan Vargas, Gabe Vasquez, Nydia Velázquez, and Eugene Vindman.
The full letter can be found here and below:
The Honorable Kristi Noem
Secretary U.S. Department of Homeland Security
2707 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE
Washington, DC 20528
Dear Secretary Noem:
In April 2025, Deysi Vargas, her husband, and four-year-old daughter, identified as S.G.V., received a notice that their legal status in the United States had been terminated, and in May, Deysi received notice that her employment authorization had also been terminated. S.G.V. suffers from short bowel syndrome, a rare condition that prevents her body from completely absorbing the nutrients of regular food. We urge you to reconsider the termination of S.G.V. and her family’s legal status as S.G.V.’s doctors say she could die within days without treatment.
Due to S.G.V.’s short bowel syndrome, she receives intensive medical treatments such as: being tethered to feeding tubes 24 hours a day; spending 14 hours each night being hooked up to an intravenous feeding system; and receiving a different type of nutrition via a gastric tube into her stomach four times a day. In 2023, S.G.V. and her family were allowed to enter the U.S. legally on humanitarian grounds.
Your Department has revoked this child’s legal status in the U.S., which interrupts the urgent, life-saving care she receives at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles every six weeks.
On the President’s first day in office he issued an Executive Order stating that, “ensuring that the parole authority under section 212(d)(5) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)) is exercised on only a case-by-case basis in accordance with the plain language of the statute, and in all circumstances only when an individual alien demonstrates urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit derived from their particular continued presence in the United States arising from such parole.”
We believe this family’s situation clearly meets the need for humanitarian aid and urge you and this Administration to reconsider its decision. It is our duty to protect the sick, vulnerable, and defenseless. Without action, S.G.V. will die. We urge a prompt response from your Department and a swift decision to extend this family’s legal status in the U.S.
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Issues: 119th Congress, Healthcare, Immigration, Local Issues