MINNESOTA STAR TRIBUNE: Burnsville woman with ovarian cyst released from ICE custody
A Burnsville woman from Guatemala who needed surgery for a potentially life-threatening ovarian cyst has been released from ICE custody after nearly three months.
U.S. Sen. Tina Smith and Rep. Angie Craig announced Andrea Pedro-Francisco’s release Thursday evening.
“I am beyond happy and relieved to hear that Andrea has been released from ICE custody and will soon be home with her family and friends in Minnesota, where she belongs,” Craig said in a statement. “Andrea didn’t deserve to be detained in the first place, and she certainly didn’t deserve to be denied the care that she desperately needed for months.”
Pedro-Francisco came to the U.S. to seek asylum and has no criminal record, Smith said in a statement. On Feb. 5, she was driving to work when she was arrested by federal agents. She was scheduled to have surgery Feb. 11 and was denied proper medical care while in custody in El Paso, Texas, Craig said.
Smith said she secured Pedro-Francisco’s release after making calls to senior officials within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Craig visited Pedro-Francisco as part of an oversight visit to two ICE detention facilities.
“Her ovarian cyst presents potentially life-threatening complications if left untreated, and she was in incredible pain,” Smith said. “Now she will be able to get the lifesaving medical care she should have been able to receive back in February.”