Immigrant Mom to Stay in US While Child Treated for Cancer

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — An immigrant mother facing deportation to Mexico has been allowed to stay in the U.S. for another six months while her daughter is treated for cancer at a Texas children's hospital.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials tell The El Paso Times that this is the third permit they've granted Maria Elena de Loera in the past two years.

De Loera sought asylum in the U.S. in 2014, after her husband was killed in Mexico. Her daughter, Alia, had been diagnosed with bone cancer by the time immigration officials denied her request in 2015.

De Loera's requests to stay in 2015 and 2016 were granted, but her request this year was initially denied.

An attorney and local religious leaders met with ICE officials this week to request the deportation delay.