Young Mom with Brain Tumor to Be Released from ICE Detention

Last month, The Daily Beast reported about how an undocumented young mother with a brain tumor was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for 15 months. That woman—Sara Beltran Hernandez, 26, who fled violence in El Salvador—will be released from detention to be with family and receive treatment for the tumor, Amnesty International announced on Thursday. According to the organization’s press release, Hernandez will be permitted to live with family in New York while her asylum claim is processed. “Sara and her family are overjoyed that she will finally be able to be with her loved ones and receive medical care after being unjustly detained for over 400 days,” Amnesty leader Eric Ferrero said. “Sara never should have been held for so long in the first place, let alone with a medical issue. It is unconscionable to treat people fleeing violence and danger as if they are criminals. Applying for asylum should not mean giving up one’s human rights in the process.”