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Minnesota Officials Press for Humanitarian Release of ICE Detainee Needing Emergency Ovarian Surgery

The case underscores mounting concerns over medical care in immigration detention.

Overview

  • State lawmakers, clergy, and U.S. Rep. Angie Craig urged DHS to grant humanitarian parole at a Thursday news conference at the Minnesota Capitol.
  • ICE arrested Andrea Pedro-Francisco, 23, in Burnsville on February 5th, days before her scheduled surgery, and transferred her to detention in El Paso, Texas.
  • Doctors warn the tennis ball–sized ovarian cyst is a medical emergency that can twist the ovary, cut off blood flow, and lead to infection or death if untreated.
  • DHS says medical staff have seen her more than six times with one emergency room evaluation confirming the cyst, while visitors report she only receives Tylenol and ibuprofen.
  • Her habeas petition for release was denied this month by a federal judge in Texas, and advocates now allege ICE pressures detainees in medical crisis to self-deport.