The Deportation Fears of Immigrants With Disabled Children
Every few minutes, Abril begins to choke. Diagnosed as a baby with severe cerebral palsy and epilepsy, the Santa Cruz, California, 8-year-old has never spoken, or walked or cleared her own throat.
Dozens of times a day, her parents, Rafael and Sonia, use a special machine to suction out saliva and phlegm from their older daughter’s mouth. Because choking and seizures can strike Abril anytime, a parent is always by her side.
Rafael and Sonia, both from Mexico, have lived in this country without permission for more than a decade. But only since the recent presidential election has a question haunted them: If they are deported, what will happen to Abril?
As the Trump administration promises to deport a broader range of people, parents like Rafael and Sonia increasingly are seeking help to stay in the country so they can tend to very sick children, according to interviews with doctors, lawyers and
