By Stephen Hawkins – 05/29/25 / 1:27 PM
WASHINGTON D.C. (FOX26) — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), along with Representative Luz Rivas (D-Calif.-29), Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.-37), and 34 other lawmakers, have called on Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to reverse the decision to terminate the legal status of a 4-year-old girl from Bakersfield and her family.
Four-year-old Sofia (S.G.V.) receives life-saving medical care at a Los Angeles hospital for a severe medical condition called short bowel syndrome.
“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,” the lawmakers wrote.
S.G.V. requires intensive medical treatments, including being connected to feeding tubes 24 hours a day, spending 14 hours each night on an intravenous feeding system, and receiving nutrition via a gastric tube four times daily.
The family was permitted to enter the U.S. legally in 2023 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,” the lawmakers continued.
The lawmakers are seeking a prompt response and a swift decision to extend the family’s legal status in the U.S.
In addition to Padilla, Schiff, Rivas, and Kamlager-Dove, the letter was also signed by Representatives Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.-44), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.-26), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.-24), Greg Casar (D-Texas-35), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas-20), Judy Chu (D-Calif.-28), Gilbert Cisneros (D-Calif.-31), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.-03), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.-13), Jim Costa (D-Calif.-21), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas-16), Laura Friedman (D-Calif.-30), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.-04), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas-29), Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.-10), Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.-34), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.-07), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-N.M.-03), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.-36), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.-02), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.-08), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.-14), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.-03), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.-06), Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.-38), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.-12), Darren Soto (D-Fla.-09), Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii-02), Norma Torres (D-Calif.-35), Derek Tran (D-Calif.-45), Juan Vargas (D-Calif.-52), Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.-02), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.-07), and Eugene Vindman (D-Va.-07).
Below is the text of the letter sent to Sec. Noem.
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.