Chicago father of child fighting cancer released on bond by immigration judge

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CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago man whose 16-year-old daughter is undergoing treatment for advanced cancer will be released on bond and return home, an immigration judge ruled Thursday.

Attorneys for Ruben Torres Maldonado, a 40-year-old painter and home renovator who was detained Oct. 18 at a suburban Home Depot store, have petitioned for his release as his deportation case goes through the system.

Judge Eva S. Saltzman on Thursday cited Torres Maldonado’s lack of criminal history while allowing his release on a $2,000 bond.

“We are gratified that the judge made the humane and common sense decision today to reunite Ruben Torres Maldonado with his family while they are dealing with this challenging health crisis for their child,” his attorney, Kalman Resnick, said in a statement.

Resnick said Torres Maldonado will be released Thursday or Friday, and is applying for U.S. permanent residency.

Torres Maldonado’s daughter, Ofelia Torres, was diagnosed in December with a rare and aggressive form of soft-tissue cancer called metastatic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma and has been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

“I can’t wait to see my dad,” Ofelia said in a statement. “We need him to be at home with me and our family.”

Ofelia described her father as a “hard-working person who wakes up early in the morning and goes to work without complaining, thinking about his family,” in a video posted on a GoFundMe page set up for her family.

Torres Maldonado and his partner, Sandibell Hidalgo, also have a 4-year-old son. Hidalgo thanked the judge, her community and people who have followed the family's story as it made national headlines this month.

“To every person who has donated to our GoFundMe, brought us dinner, and provided emotional support, we are so grateful,” she said in a statement.

Torres Maldonado's arrest comes after weeks of tense encounters and increasingly aggressive tactics by federal immigration agents involved in Operation Midway Blitz, which has resulted in more than 3,000 arrests in the Chicago metropolitan area.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Daniel said last week that Torres Maldonado’s detention is illegal and violates his due process rights. But Daniel also said he could not order his immediate release.

“While sympathetic to the plight the petitioner’s daughter faces due to her health concerns, the court must act within the constraints of the relevant statutes, rules, and precedents,” the judge wrote Friday.

The Department of Homeland Security alleges that Torres Maldonado has been living illegally in the U.S. for years after entering the U.S. in 2003.