FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY EXPRESSES CONCERN ON THE DETAINMENT OF ROSA MARIA HERNANDEZ
For Inquires: Kaitlyn Meuser, kmeuser@ucp.org , (202)-973-7185
Armando Contreras, President and CEO, acontreras@ucp.org
Washington, D.C. (October 27, 2017) — United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) would like to express substantial concerns about the condition and treatment of Rosa Maria Hernandez, a 10-year-old girl with Cerebral Palsy, who was detained by federal immigration authorities on the way to emergency gall bladder surgery in Corpus Christi, Texas. After discharge from the hospital, authorities placed her in a facility for undocumented children in San Antonio. Various news outlets note that her doctors have recommended that she be released to family members who can care for her.
We strongly urge authorities to allow this young girl with Cerebral Palsy to be with her family and receive needed care so that she can fully recover from her surgery. Children with disabilities are among society’s most vulnerable and often have challenging health care and social support needs. UCP believes in providing those children with appropriate and high-quality care to address emergencies, help manage complex conditions and ongoing needs, and ensure a positive quality of life – a “life without limits.”
In this case, immigration-related issues have presented barriers to the child’s care, and we hope that authorities find a way to ensure she does not remain separated from her family and with compromised access to health care needed for her recovery. Furthermore, as policymakers in Congress and the Administration consider approaches to address immigration-related issues, including those related to the immigration status of children, we urge them to take into account the complex health care needs of special needs children like Rosa Maria and the potential situations like this one that could arise.
Through our nearly 70-member strong affiliate network across the United States and Canada, UCP’s affiliates help to provide a variety of services and supports to people with disabilities and their families who come from a wide range of backgrounds and communities.
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About United Cerebral Palsy
United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) educates, advocates and provides support services through an affiliate network to ensure a life without limits for people with a spectrum of disabilities. Together with nearly 70 affiliates, UCP has a mission to advance the ndependence, productivity and full citizenship of people with disabilities by supporting more than 176,000 children and adults every day—one person at a time, one family at a time. UCP works to enact real change—to revolutionize care, raise standards of living and create opportunities—impacting the lives of millions living with disabilities. For more than 60 years, UCP has worked to ensure the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in every facet of society. Together, with parents and caregivers, UCP will continue to push for the social, legal and technological changes that increase accessibility and independence, allowing people with disabilities to dream their own dreams, for the next 60 years, and beyond. For more information, please visit www.ucp.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- UCP Statement on Rosa Maria Hernandez