An 18-month-old girl detained for weeks by U.S. immigration authorities was returned to custody and denied medication after being hospitalized with a life-threatening respiratory illness, according to a lawsuit filed in Texas federal court.
The child, identified in the lawsuit as “Amalia,” was released by immigration authorities in President Donald Trump’s administration after her parents sued on Friday. The parents, who also had been detained, were released as well. The suit had sought the release of all three of them.
The family was detained during a check-in with immigration authorities on December 11 and held at a facility in Dilley, Texas, according to the lawsuit. Amalia was hospitalized from January 18 to 28, and returned to the Dilley facility in the midst of a measles outbreak, the lawsuit said.
“Baby Amalia should never have been detained. She nearly died at Dilley,” said Elora Mukherjee, an attorney for the family.