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  "path": "/immigration/2026/02/14/ofelia-giselle-torres-hidalgo-dies-immigration-ice-cancer",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-15T04:45:32.420Z",
  "site": "https://chicago.suntimes.com",
  "textContent": "<p>Ofelia Giselle Torres Hidaldo, a Chicago teen who successfully fought for her father's release from federal immigration detainment, died Friday after battling a rare and aggressive form of cancer, according to a news release. </p><p>Ofelia, a junior at Lake View High School, had been battling metastatic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer, since December 2024. Last year, the cancer progressed to stage 4 and she began receiving chemotherapy treatments. </p><p>One day after she was released for the weekend from Lurie Children's Hospital to see family and friends in mid-October, her father, <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/10/25/ruben-torres-maldonado-daughter-battling-cancer-judge-ruling\" >Ruben Torres Maldonado, was detained</a> by ICE agents in Niles. <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.suntimeswire.com/2025/10/25/ruben-torres-maldonado-daughter-battling-cancer-judge-ruling\" >Doctors said</a> she was unable to continue treatment \"because of the stress and disruption\" caused by the arrest. </p><p>Following widespread demands for his release, including <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reels/DP-PGMHjWQ-/\" target=\"_blank\" >a video made by Ofelia</a> on social media, <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/10/30/chicago-father-of-teen-battling-rare-cancer-ordered-released-from-ice-custody\" >Maldonado was released on bond</a> from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention in late-October. </p><p>\"Ofelia was heroic and brave in the face of ICE's detention and threatened deportation of her father,\" said Kalman Resnick, the attorney representing Torres, in a statement Saturday. \"We mourn Ofelia's passing, and we hope that she will serve as a model for us all for how to be courageous and to fight for what's right to our last breaths.\"</p><p>On Tuesday, an immigration judge in Chicago conditionally entitled her father to receive a \"cancellation of removal,\" due to the impact his deportation would have on his children who are citizens in the U.S. According to the news release, this would provide him with a pathway to lawful permanent residency and eventually U.S. citizenship. </p><p>Ofelia was able to watch her father's hearing via Zoom. </p><p>A <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/stand-with-ofelia-support-her-family-now\" target=\"_blank\" >GoFundMe</a> page was started for Ofelia in October and has collected more than $119,000. </p>",
  "title": "Chicago teen who battled cancer while fighting for father's release from ICE detention dies",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-15T04:45:32.420Z"
}