Ofelia Torres, the teenage Chicago Public Schools student whose fight against cancer while her father was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers represented the federal government’s overreach during Operation Midway Blitz, has died, her family announced on Saturday.
The Torres family story came to public attention in October after Ofelia’s father, Ruben Torres Maldonado, was detained at a Home Depot in Niles. Ofelia had been on a temporary break from cancer treatment at Lurie Children’s Hospital when her family worked with her oncologist to arrange a short weekend getaway. Ofelia and three of her closest friends gathered to enjoy a Saturday of simple pleasures and normalcy before a scheduled return to the hospital and chemotherapy.
As the girls spent time together, Torres called his wife, Sandibell Hidalgo, from a number that came up on Caller ID as “prison / jail.”
“It’s me,” he said. “They got me.”
That set off a flurry of court briefs, legal fights and public protests calling for Torres’s release. As her family fought for his return, Ofelia made a video where she lamented the toll of Midway Blitz, for her family and others.
“I find it so unfair that hardworking immigrant families are being targeted because they were not born here,” Ofelia said in the recording.
She added that she was making the video “to spread awareness and remind the public that immigrants are humans with families and deserve to be treated with love and respect like anyone else.”
Despite her illness, Ofelia was a fierce public presence. Seated in a wheelchair at the front of the federal courtroom at 219 S. Dearborn St., Ofelia attended a hearing where her family attorney, Kalman Resnick, argued for her father’s release.
Days before Ofelia’s death, an immigration judge ruled that Torres was conditionally entitled to receive “cancellation of removal” due to the hardships his deportation would cause his U.S. citizen children, providing him with a pathway to lawful permanent residence and eventually U.S. citizenship, the family announced in a statement. Ofelia was present for the family’s good news.
“Ofelia was heroic and brave in the face of ICE’s detention and threatened deportation of her father,” Resnick said in a statement. “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 to our last breaths.”
The family’s case underscored the Trump administration’s harsh approach to immigration and detention. Torres’s lawyers argued for his immediate release due to the hardship his absence created for the family, his lack of a criminal record and strong ties to the community.
Federal prosecutor Craig Oswald acknowledged the “very serious situation” facing the family and said the government considered releasing Torres voluntarily. But Oswald told the court that the government declined after discussing the case with “our client,” in part because Torres was not cooperative when agents arrested him.
A federal judge ordered Torres to receive a bond hearing in immigration court, where the judge released him. He joyfully reunited with his family and returned to caring for his daughter.
In addition to her mother and father, Ofelia is survived by a younger brother, Nathan.
Last fall, Ofelia told the Tribune her father instilled in her the value of independence. For her 15th birthday, he took her to the Chicago Cultural Center for traditional quinceañera photos, but instead of spending money on a big party, he bought her a car.
Torres carefully searched Facebook Marketplace listings looking for the perfect vehicle. When he saw a candidate, he meticulously inspected the vehicle and took it on test drives.
Eventually, they found a 2006 Ford Mustang with 39,000 miles on it that had been well cared for and largely kept in a garage.
“My dad test drove it. He was like, this car, this is your car,” Ofelia said. “On my birthday, the day of my birthday, he bought me my car.”
One day, Ofelia drove home with the top down as her dad was sitting on the stairs. He stared at her quietly and intently, she recalled. She asked if there was something on her face and he said no.
Later, he told her, “That day that you came home with your car, I felt like I had done it. I made it in life. Everything I had done, everything I worked for, everything I sacrificed, everything I suffered, was worth it because that’s what I wanted to see.”
Ofelia’s father also took her to boxing and karate classes. He would coach her on how to fight.
“His number one goal with raising me was making sure that I never had to rely on anyone,” she said. “That once I moved out of the house, that I grew up, that I knew how to take care of myself. He wanted me to be an independent person.”
In life, Ofelia made an impression on teachers at her school and public officials.
Last year, Ofelia did a research project for her teacher at Lake View High School, Valerie Wadycki, about the cost of health care.
Impressed by Ofelia’s interest in the subject, Wadycki introduced her to her friend, state Rep. Laura Faver Dias from Grayslake, who had an hour-long discussion with the teenager.
“She is smart, funny, inquisitive, engaging. We just talked about state health care policy. We talked about her fears, our shared fears about what happens to Medicaid for her and her family as she is navigating cancer,” Dias previously told the Tribune. “The hoops her mom has had to jump through to make sure they get the best care possible because they’re on Medicaid.”
Dias introduced Torres to the family’s state representative, Will Guzzardi, who was inspired by the girl’s spirit. ”Ofelia is so brave,” Guzzardi said.