Deported family of child recovering from brain tumor requests parole for medical care

The 11-year-old girl's symptoms have worsened since the mixed-immigration status family was deported to Mexico, the mother told NBC News.

An 11-year-old girl who is a U.S. citizen and is recovering from a rare brain tumor has been living in Mexico since immigration authorities removed her from Texas when they deported her undocumented parents four months ago.

Four of her siblings, three of whom are also U.S. citizens, were also sent to Mexico with the parents.

Since then, the girl’s health condition has not improved, her mother told NBC News. In an attempt to return to the United States to get her the care she needs, the family applied for humanitarian parole with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Thursday.

“We’re fighting for my girl’s life," the mother said, adding that her daughter isn't recovering from "just any disease. ... She is not going to be cured overnight; it’s something that takes time.”

An 11-year-old girl recovering from a rare brain tumor was removed from the United States with her undocumented parents in February. Photograph has been blurred by the Texas Civil Rights Project for safety purposes.Texas Civil Rights ProjectTheir request is for the undocumented parents and the girl's noncitizen sibling to be allowed to enter and live in the U.S. temporarily, so that the ailing girl can have "the full support of her family as she gets treatment to help save her life,” said Danny Woodward of the Texas Civil Rights Project, a legal advocacy organization representing the family.