Who was Ofelia Torres? Chicago teen who fought for father’s release from ICE detention dies of cancer

Ofelia Torres, the 16-year-old Chicago student who publicly appealed for her father’s release from immigration detention while battling a rare cancer, has died, reports NBC news.

Ofelia passed away on Friday from Stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer that affects soft tissue. She had been diagnosed in December 2024 and had spent months in treatment.




Her death comes months after she drew attention online when her father, Ruben Torres Maldonado, was arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on October 18, 2025. At the time, Ofelia was home from hospital receiving care and spending time with her family.

Soon after his arrest, she posted a video on Instagram calling for his release and speaking about families facing similar situations. In the video, she described her father as a devoted parent.

“My dad, like many others, is a hardworking person who wakes up early in the morning and goes to work without complaining, thinking about his family,” Ofelia says in the video.

She adds, “I find it so unfair that hardworking immigrant families are being targeted just because they were not born here.”

The video included photographs of her father with the family and images of Ofelia during hospital treatment.

Torres Maldonado was released from ICE detention about two weeks later on a $2,000 bond. According to a family spokesperson, a judge considered his daughter’s medical condition during a hearing before granting release.

In an earlier statement about his arrest, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said: “He’s been charged multiple times with driving without insurance, driving without a valid license, and speeding. During his arrest he did not comply with instructions from the officers and attempted to flee in his vehicle and backed into a government vehicle.”

Shortly before Ofelia’s death, a Chicago judge ruled that her father qualified for cancellation of removal, finding that his deportation would negatively affect his US citizen children. A family representative said the decision could provide a pathway to permanent residence and eventually citizenship.

Ofelia was a junior at Lake View High School in Chicago and attended the immigration hearing via Zoom three days before she died.

Her father’s lawyer, Kalman Resnick, said: “Ofelia was heroic and brave in the face of ICE’s detention and threatened deportation of her father. 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.”