A Mexican immigrant living in Michigan with kidney problems that require medical attention is pleading with U.S. immigration officials to let him stay in the country.

Abraham Navarretete-Morales, 32, of Ann Arbor, spoke Thursday in front of the Detroit office of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) asking them to grant him a medical deferral, which he had previously been getting for four years.

The deferrals allowed Morales, who is undocumented, to stay in the U.S. legally so his illness could be treated.

"It would like be a death sentence for me” if I were to be deported to Mexico, he said Thursday morning. "I would basically be sent to Mexico to die."

Because USCIS has not renewed Morales' medical deferral, his insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield, is ending his insurance coverage, said his attorney Brad Thomson. Morales said he recently found out that his health coverage was ending when he was told by a pharmacist they couldn't get approval for payment of his expensive prescription drugs.

Morales said he received a kidney transplant last year, which requires extensive medication and other treatments that would be too expensive for him in Mexico.

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Thomson said he has been asking USCIS when Morales' will get his renewal, but has not gotten an answer. He's worried that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could deport him because he lacks legal status. A spokesman for Detroit ICE could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

"If Abraham is not granted a continuation of deferred action, it could have deadly consequences," Thomson said. "If the application is approved, Abraham will immediately be able to re-enroll in his private health insurance and obtain his life-saving medications."

The issue of medical deferrals for undocumented immigrants has been a contentious issue nationally in recent months. In August, the Trump administration said it was ending medical deferrals, which had allowed immigrants to avoid deportation in cases where they or a family member was getting life-saving medical treatment or had other hardships, reported the Associated Press.

After an outcry from Democrats and immigrant advocates, USCIS then reversed part of the new policy, saying on Sept. 2 in a statement that "it will re-open non-military deferred action cases that were pending on August 7."

Late Thursday, there were reports that USCIS again tweaked its policy, releasing a statement to media outlets and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform that read: "At the direction of Acting (Department of Homeland Security) Secretary (Kevin) McAleenan, USCIS is resuming its consideration of non-military deferred action requests on a discretionary, case-by-case basis, except as otherwise required by an applicable statute, regulation, or court order."

A regional spokeswoman for USCIS declined to comment on Morales' case, citing privacy reasons. It's unclear whether the announcement late Thursday will help Morales.

Born in Mexico, Morales entered the U.S. without permission when he was 16 years old.

In 2012, Morales was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure because of underdeveloped kidneys, Thomson said. In 2013, he applied for a medical deferral with USCIS and was denied. He applied again in 2014, and was granted a deferral for 2 years from 2015 to 2017.

He later applied for a renewal that lasted until Oct. 2018. In Nov. 2018, he applied for a renewal, and is waiting to hear back.

The medications he takes cost about $7,000 a month and would be too expensive for him without insurance, Morales said. He currently works at a cell phone store in Michigan, where his bi-lingual skills are helpful with Spanish-speaking customers, Thomson said.

Rev. Jill Hardt Zundel, pastor of Central United Methodist Church in Detroit, expressed concern about Morales and Flora Rranxburgaj, an Albanian immigrant with MS staying in sanctuary in her church along with her husband, Ded Rranxburgaj since January 2018. ICE has declared Ded a fugitive, but has not entered the church to attempt to deport him.

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Zundel worries that immigrants like them could be deported and die.

"The Trump administration's cruelty knows no boundaries, taking away sick people's humanitarian stays and deporting them back to their home country means certain death," she said. "This is violence, and we say today, not on our watch. ... These are not criminals. These are not people taking away your jobs."

Morales is worried he would suffer and possibly die if sent back to Mexico.

"It's not easy going back there," he said. "I may lose a kidney, and if I lose the kidney, and then have to go back on dialysis. A lot of people have lost their lives in that situation."

Contact Niraj Warikoo: Twitter @nwarikoo