Minnesota woman detained by ICE needs emergency surgery for tennis ball-sized ovarian cyst, lawmakers say

Minnesota lawmakers are calling for the humanitarian release of a woman detained earlier this year, amid Operation Metro Surge, who is suffering from a tennis ball-sized ovarian cyst.

Federal immigration agents arrested 23-year-old Andrea Pedro-Francisco in Burnsville on Feb. 5, just days before she says she was scheduled to have surgery.

Pedro-Francisco moved to Minnesota seeking asylum with her mother back in 2019. Right now, she is being held in a detention center in El Paso, Texas.

State lawmakers — including practicing ER physician Sen. Alice Mann, D-Edina — held a news conference Thursday morning at the Capitol to push for Pedro-Francisco's immediate release.

"An ovarian cyst this big can put weight on the ovary and cause the ovary to twist onto itself, cutting off the ovary's blood supply. This is a medical emergency," Mann said. "This can impact fertility, and we are talking about a 23-year-old. If not treated, this can lead to infection and even death."

Also on hand Thursday was North Dakota-based pastor Ellery Dykeman, who said he met with Pedro-Francisco last week in the detention center. Dykeman said she looked thinner than he had seen her in pictures.

Dykeman said Pedro-Francisco told him she is forced to climb up to a third-level bunk despite immense pain extending from the right side of her abdomen to her back.

Earlier this month, Democratic Minnesota Congresswoman Angie Craig said her team is tracking 20 medical cases with improper care within ICE detention. A quarter of them have serious conditions, her office says.

WCCO has reached out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for comment.