Baby stuck in Brazil will soon be issued passport to return to Minnesota, Sen. Smith says
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota couple who is stuck in Brazil with their newborn son has received some good news.
On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., announced an update after speaking with parents Cheri and Chris Phillips, saying she has been cutting through some "red tape" with the Brazilian embassy to get baby Greyson back to the United States.
"We can finally confirm Greyson will soon have his passport to come home," Smith said in a post on X.
Cheri and Chris Phillips of Cambridge, Minnesota, were roughly six months pregnant when they went on the two-week trip to Brazil this past February. Doctors had approved and encouraged the travel, with Phillips' due date not until early June.
Two days before the couple was set to return home, however, Greyson was born three months prematurely. He weighed just over 2 pounds and doctors needed to resuscitated his heart.
After 51 days in intensive care, Greyson was given the all-clear to go home. But to leave Brazil, the baby will need a passport, which would take a birth certificate, which would take the favor of the Brazilian court system.
The family sought help from Smith and the Brazilian government in order to return home.
Data released earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that early-term and preterm births have increased in the U.S. over the past decade.
WCCO will continue to follow this story and update when the family is heading home.
