Deported family of U.S. citizen girl recovering from rare brain tumor is determined to return

The family, now in Mexico, is garnering support from some members of Congress as they prepare to apply for humanitarian parole, hoping the 11-year-old can resume her treatment in the U.S.

A girl recovering from a rare brain tumor celebrated her 11th birthday Sunday, hundreds of miles away from everything she's known — her friends at school, her community at church, her home.

She's one of four U.S. citizen children who were sent to Mexico from Texas three months ago when immigration authorities deported their undocumented parents.

Fearing for their safety after the mixed-immigration-status family was taken to an area in Mexico that's been known for kidnapping U.S. citizens, they haven't given up on being able to return to the U.S. — primarily to continue the girl's medical treatment.

On Friday morning, the family is traveling to Monterrey to meet with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. They hope that sharing their immigration plight motivates legislators to advocate for their return under humanitarian parole, according to a family representative.

An 11-year-old girl and U.S. citizen recovering from a rare brain tumor is now in Mexico after her parents were deported. The photo has been blurred by the Texas Civil Rights Project for confidentiality purposes.Texas Civil Rights Project“Pressure from the public about the deportation of vulnerable United States citizen children really is effective, and members of Congress are answering that call,” Rochelle Garza, president of the Texas Civil Rights Project, the legal advocacy and litigation organization representing the family, told NBC News on Thursday.