you are living than any of us right now. described the rhythm of what you are going through as a mother in ukraine. my name is maria and my life it is 2022. i became a warrior is more traveling. i became a person who is trying to defend my son, my parents. really shocking when this war
reporter: this was the mariupol drama theater before vladimir putin invaded ukraine. a cultural and architectural symbol of the city. and when the russian military laid its deadly siege of mariupol, the theater became a . and we go to the theater was a people, there was like we re okay, we have food. they give us tea. and said you should find where you could like a bed. this woman and her family recently escaped from mariupol. my name is maria. on the morning of march 16, she and her mother, sister and cat joined hundreds of others
speaking to cnn about her family s terrifying experience. here is ivan watson with that. this was the drama theater before vladimir putin invaded ukraine. a culture and architectural symbol of the city. and when the russian military laid its deadly siege of mariupol, the theater became a safe haven. six people, with a cat, we go on the street, and russian started to shoot at us. we were running. it was craziness. and then we go to the theater. and you know what? in the theater waurz lot of people. they was it will be okay. we have food. they give us a tea. and they said like, you should find a place where you could, like, a bed. this woman and her family recently escaped from mariupol. my name is maria. i m from mariupol. i m maria from mariupol. reporter: on the morning of march 16th, maria, her mother,
my name is maria. at 24 years old, i came to the u.s. from guatemala when i was only 7 to participate in a clinical trial to save my life and life of those like me. i came here and have been a legal resident for over 16 years. on august 13th, they sent me a letter giving me family just 33 days to leave the country. the day our lawyers told us the medical deferred action program was canceled, i started crying telling my mom, i don t want to die. i don t want to die. if i go back to honduras, i will die. maria and jason are among the 424 people who received letters last month telling them they had 33 days to leave the country. a practical death sentence for those receiving life-saving medical treatment in the u.s. the trump administration has backtracked saying it will review some of those cases. with the 33 days now up, people
our life depends on it. my name is jonathan eduardo sanchez-sanchez, and i m a 16 years boy that has cystic fibrosis, a disease that affects primarily the lungs. it s incredibly unfair to kick kids in hospitals or at home getting treatments to save their lives. the day our lawyers told us that the medical deferred action program was canceled, i started crying telling my mom, i don t want to die. i don t want to die. if i go back to honduras, i will die. after this i feel so tired both emotionally and mentally. i could not even sleep properly. i feel disappointed with the u.s. state government that they canceled this program.