Andrea Pedro-Francisco is 23 years old. She plays bass at her church in Burnsville, Minnesota, where she has lived with her family since 2019 — all while pursuing legal protection in the United States. In February, on her way to work, immigration agents arrested her and sent her to a detention facility in El Paso, Texas. The surgery she had scheduled for just days later never happened.

Three months later, Andrea is still in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, in severe pain, with an ovarian cyst the size of a tennis ball. When she was first examined in detention, a doctor told her she didn't have a cyst. She was given Tylenol — even though her doctor had prescribed her an opioid for the pain before her arrest. It wasn't until she was transferred to another facility, after her pain became unbearable, that an ultrasound finally confirmed what she already knew.

This is not a minor issue. According to the Mayo Clinic, large ovarian cysts can cause the ovary to twist — a condition called ovarian torsion — and carry a real risk of rupture. Physicians have written directly to ICE about her case. As Rep. Angie Craig, who traveled to El Paso to visit Andrea, told MPR News: "Physicians have written to ICE to say this is a very dangerous situation when a tennis ball-sized ovarian cyst goes untreated." Despite all of this, Andrea's request for humanitarian parole — a temporary release so she could receive the surgery she needs — was denied.

Andrea came to this country seeking safety. She has a pending immigration hearing and, with it, a legal right to have her case considered. That process exists for a reason. But she cannot meaningfully participate in her own legal proceedings while she is in pain, isolated from her family and her legal team, and denied the medical care that any person in government custody is owed.

We are calling on ICE to immediately release Andrea Pedro-Francisco so she can receive emergency surgery — and to allow her immigration case to move forward. No one should be denied life-saving treatment while in government custody. And no one who is legally entitled to make their case should be prevented from doing so.

Sign this petition to demand that Andrea gets the surgery she needs and the fair hearing she deserves.