16-Year-Old Girl Who Called for Dad’s Release from ICE Custody Dies from Rare Cancer: ‘Her Love Will Endure’

A Chicago teenager who previously made headlines for calling for the release of her father from ICE custody has died after a rare form of cancer.

Ofelia Torres, 16 — the daughter of Ruben Torres Maldonado, who was briefly detained by the Department of Homeland Security in October — died Friday, Feb. 13, according to a statement from the family’s attorney, Kalman Resnick.

NBC News reported that Ofelia died from Stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive soft-tissue cancer. She was diagnosed in December 2024.

The Cleveland Clinic describes rhabdomyosarcoma as a rare cancer that typically affects children and teenagers, developing in soft tissue and often involving muscle-related areas such as the arms, legs, head and neck, or abdomen.

Ofelia was a student at Lakeview High School, according to WLS-TV. Following her diagnosis, she completed much of her schoolwork from home over the past year, the outlet reported.

In a statement, Resnick said that three days before Ofelia’s death, an immigration judge in Chicago ruled her father was conditionally entitled to “cancellation of removal” because of the hardships his deportation would cause his U.S. citizen children. The decision provided him a pathway to lawful permanent residence and, eventually, U.S. citizenship. Ofelia attended the hearing via Zoom, Resnick said.

Resnick also noted that Torres Maldonado’s case drew widespread national attention in part because of a video Ofelia posted shortly after her father’s arrest calling for his release. Private funeral arrangements have been made, he said.

“Ofelia was heroic and brave in the face of ICE’s detention and threatened deportation of her father,” Resnick said. “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.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was among those paying tribute on social media, writing that his prayers were with the Torres family and that Ofelia’s love would endure.

Ofelia had spoken publicly in October after her father was arrested on Oct. 18, 2025, while she was home from the hospital spending time with her family, according to NBC News.

“You guys are targeting the wrong people,” she said at the time, according to WLS-TV. “You are targeting hardworking fathers, mothers, kids. They don’t deserve it.”

Nearly two weeks after Torres Maldonado was detained at a Home Depot store, an immigration judge ruled Oct. 30 that he could be released on bond and return home, the Associated Press previously reported. Judge Eva S. Saltzman cited his lack of criminal history and set bond at $2,000, the news agency said.

At the time, Resnick said he was grateful for what he called a humane decision that allowed the family to reunite while dealing with the child’s health crisis.

“I can’t wait to see my dad,” Ofelia said then, according to the same reporting. “We need him to be at home with me and our family.”

Torres Maldonado’s arrest occurred amid Operation Midway Blitz, an immigration enforcement effort that resulted in thousands of arrests in the Chicago metropolitan area, according to the Associated Press.