Vanished on the Fourth: The Story of Nory Sontay Ramos and Estela Ramos Baten

On July 4th, honor student and athlete Nory Sontay Ramos and her mother, Estela Ramos Baten, were deported from Los Angeles to Guatemala — the country they had fled in 2016 after gang threats. Since their deportation, they have been living in hiding, unable to seek medical care for Ramos Baten’s chronic illnesses. On September 8, she died. Her family says the stress, fear, and lack of treatment tied to deportation contributed directly to her death, leaving her children mourning across two countries.