WCCO: Burnsville woman detained by ICE days before scheduled surgery hasn't received proper care, lawyer says

A Burnsville, Minnesota, woman who was supposed to have an ovarian cyst removed but was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents days before her surgery is living in severe pain, according to her lawyer.

Rep. Angie Craig is demanding the release of Andrea Pedro-Francisco so she can get the proper care she needs, because it could mean life or death. The 23-year-old has an ovarian cyst the size of a tennis ball that needs to be removed.

Pedro-Francisco was arrested in early February, just days before her scheduled surgery to remove the cyst. Instead of getting the treatment, she was taken to a detention facility in El Paso, Texas.

Her lawyer says she still hasn't received proper care. 

"These are individual lives at risk. People who serve our communities. People who are friends of people who have been here as minors and if we look away as a community then what does that say about who we are? I know Minnesota is not going to look away," Craig said.

Craig says her team is tracking 20 medical cases with improper care within ICE detention. A quarter of them have serious conditions, her office says.

Pedro-Francisco moved to Minnesota seeking asylum with her mother in 2019. 

WCCO has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security about her case and are waiting for a reply.