TAMPA, Fla. – Today, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL-14) urged President Trump to immediately grant humanitarian parole for Heidy Sánchez, a Tampa mother who was ripped away from her infant daughter and husband and unlawfully deported to Cuba:

“It is unconscionable and wrong for your ICE personnel to harm families in this way. Ms. Sánchez is entitled to due process, and her husband and daughter (both U.S. citizens) deserve to be treated with the dignity we value as Americans,” wrote Rep. Castor. "Ms. Sánchez’s husband, Carlos Yuniel Valle, advised me that the separation of mother and daughter was so sudden and traumatic that their infant daughter was taken to the hospital. The baby was still breastfeeding at the time your Administration tore them apart, and the baby’s ongoing health issues require her mother’s return to the U.S. as soon as possible. Ms. Sánchez, a mother and home health aide, was complying with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) request to regularly check in at the local Tampa office.

Rep. Castor continued, “The treatment of the Sánchez-Valle family is a deep stain on your Administration and is repugnant to American values and constitutional protections, but it does not have to be this way. You have the authority to grant humanitarian parole to Ms. Sánchez and reunite this family today in Tampa. I urge you to do so immediately.”

Read the full letter here:

Dear President Trump: 

I write to call out the cruel and unlawful treatment of Heidy Sánchez from Tampa, Florida who was ripped away from her infant daughter and husband last Thursday and transported to Cuba. I urge you to grant Ms. Sánchez humanitarian parole and return her to her family in Tampa immediately. 

Ms. Sánchez’s husband, Carlos Yuniel Valle, advised me that the separation of mother and daughter was so sudden and traumatic that their infant daughter was taken to the hospital. The baby was still breastfeeding at the time your Administration tore them apart, and the baby’s ongoing health issues require her mother’s return to the U.S. as soon as possible. Ms. Sánchez, a mother and home health aide, was complying with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) request to regularly check in at the local Tampa office. During her appointment last Tuesday, she was unceremoniously ripped away from her daughter and husband and transported to Cuba. 

It is unconscionable and wrong for your ICE personnel to harm families in this way. Ms. Sánchez is entitled to due process, and her husband and daughter (both U.S. citizens) deserve to be treated with the dignity we value as Americans. Due to the suffocating oppression in Cuba and lack of essentials like food and clean water, Ms. Sánchez should not be trafficked to a country where she will be harmed and suffer. 

You attended the funeral of Pope Francis over the weekend, so I recommend that you honor his memory by acting consistently with his recent admonition that we are “called upon to consider the legitimacy of norms and public policies in the light of the dignity of the person and his or her fundamental rights.” 

The treatment of the Sánchez-Valle family is a deep stain on your Administration and is repugnant to American values and constitutional protections, but it does not have to be this way. You have the authority to grant humanitarian parole to Ms. Sánchez and reunite this family today in Tampa. I urge you to do so immediately.

Sincerely,