A Guatemalan father whose 4-year-old daughter is undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia was detained last week by immigration officials in Birmingham, Alabama — a move that has devastated his family and sparked concern he may never see his daughter again.
According to AL.com, the man, who has no criminal history, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a routine check-in on July 16. He and his wife have lived in the Birmingham area for six years. Their daughter, a U.S. citizen, was diagnosed with leukemia in December and currently receives chemotherapy twice a week.
Attorney Kimberly Fasking, who represents the family, described the emotional moment of the separation:
“It was hard witnessing their last goodbye — perhaps for the rest of their lives.”
The man is currently being held in an Alabama detention center and is expected to be transferred to a facility in Louisiana before likely being deported to Guatemala. His identity is being withheld for the family’s safety.
Fasking said the separation has had a deeply traumatic effect on the family — especially on the child, who is closely bonded with her father.
“This is a 4-year-old going through chemotherapy who has now been separated from her father, to whom she is desperately attached. He is devoted to her,” she said.
In a Facebook post, Fasking described pleading with ICE officers to allow the father to say goodbye to his daughter. Initially, her request was denied.
“The officer said no, because he did not want to traumatize her with the sight of her father in handcuffs,” she recalled.
But after a final emotional plea — “more as a mother than a lawyer,” Fasking said — an officer relented. She described gently lifting the frail girl from the car and carrying her into the office to see her father one last time.
“I handed her to her father and stepped outside the office and cried,” she wrote. “I gathered myself and returned a few minutes later.”
The detained father also bid farewell to his two other children, ages 13 and 10, telling them, “Don’t be sad,” according to Fasking.
The mother said their daughter often feels sick after chemotherapy treatments, sometimes experiencing fevers and complications.
“She’s getting treatment two times per week,” the mother said. “Some days are harder than others.”
Fasking added that the father has held steady employment in the construction industry, working for the same company for four years.
“He’s done everything right — a steady job, a family, and a sick child who needs him,” Fasking said. “This separation is more than just a policy decision. It’s a human tragedy.”
