Rosa Maria Hernandez has cerebral palsy and was on her way to hospital for emergency surgery when US Border Patrol agents stopped her ambulance at a checkpoint in Texas.
Immigration authorities determined that Rosa was undocumented and followed the ambulance to Corpus Christi's children's hospital, remaining stationed outside the young patient's hospital room.
Instead of being allowed to recover from gall bladder surgery at the home of her cousin, a US citizen, the 10-year-old was taken to a government-run shelter in San Antonio where she remains.
The case has outraged advocates, civil libertarians and celebrities with the hashtag #FreeRosa taking off.
Actress Alyssa Milano, best known for her television roles on 'Melrose Place' and 'Charmed', has tweeted repeatedly about Rosa's plight describing her treatment as "disgusting".
It's unclear when Rosa will be released.
Routine case
Rosa has been living as an undocumented immigrant in southern Texas since her mother brought her across the US-Mexico border when she was three-months-old.
Immigration officials say agents followed correct procedure and it was a routine enforcement of the nation's immigration laws.
"Due to the juvenile's medical condition, border patrol agents escorted her and her cousin to a Corpus Christi hospital where she could receive appropriate medical care. Per the immigration laws of the United States, once medically cleared she will be processed accordingly," the agency said in a statement.
The family is trying to raise money for legal fees and to move to a larger home in the hope that will improve their chances of getting approval for Rosa to live with them.
In September, a man and woman, who were in the US illegally, were followed by Border Patrol to the same hospital when their newborn child needed surgery.
