"On Friday night, 16-year-oldOfelia Torres died from a rare and aggressive form of tissue cancer-and due to Trump's crueldeportation campaign, she spent the last days of her life fighting for her father's freedom. Torres, who was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in December 2024, was undergoing cancer treatment when she took a break from the hospital to visit her home in Chicago in October."
"Torres' efforts to highlight his case helped spotlight how barbaric and senseless ICE was becoming. (This was before ICE began Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota.) 'My dad, like many others, is a hardworking person who wakes up early in the morning and goes to work without complaining, thinking about his family,' she wrote on Instagram. 'I find it so unfair that hardworking immigrant families are being targeted just because they were not born here.'"
"Ofelia Torres' bravery in the face of injustice was beyond words - her courage became a symbol of strength at a time when even the strongest would have bowed. My deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. May her memory be a blessing. [image or embed]- Governor JB Pritzker (@govpritzker.illinois.gov) February 15, 2026 at 2:00 PM According to family attorneys, because of the stress, Torres was unable to continue treatment after her father was arrested."
Ofelia Torres, 16, died from aggressive alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma after pausing treatment amid her father's detention during an ICE operation. She left the hospital to visit family in Chicago in October when her father, Torres Maldonado, was detained at a Home Depot during Operation Midway Blitz. Torres publicized her father's case and criticized the targeting of immigrant families. A judge later ordered Maldonado's release on a $2,000 bond, citing the need to consider Torres' treatment and ruling his detention illegal and a due process violation. Family attorneys say stress from the arrest forced Torres to stop treatment. Operation Midway Blitz was one of multiple crackdowns that led to over 1,600 arrests.
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