BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Recent accounts from women detained by U.S. immigration agents while pregnant reveal alarming conditions and inadequate care within federal detention facilities. In a letter dated Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) urged the Trump administration to discontinue the practice of detaining expectant mothers, citing numerous distressing experiences reported by the detainees.
This letter is part of a broader campaign launched recently by Democratic lawmakers and immigrant rights activists who assert that the treatment of pregnant women under the current immigration crackdown is unacceptable.
Despite claims from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding the appropriate care provided, including regular prenatal visits and nutritional support, the ACLU's findings challenge these assertions. The Department has yet to disclose specific figures concerning the number of pregnant women in detention, which lawmakers are demanding.
Pregnant detainees reported being shackled during transport, enduring solitary confinement for extended periods, and suffering from insufficient access to food and hydration in ICE facilities located in Louisiana and Georgia. Some women, as noted in the ACLU letter, experienced miscarriages while in custody and faced severe medical issues, including infections.
In an interview with The Associated Press, one former detainee shared her ordeal of being handcuffed during a five-hour transport that required two flights. Keeping her anonymity out of fear of retaliation, she mentioned the frustrations she felt when an officer doubted her ability to escape due to her pregnancy. How am I going to escape if I’m pregnant? she recounted asking.
The former detainee detailed her feelings of fear and distress throughout her experience, describing the detention environment as dehumanizing, with inadequate food options and the necessity to continually request essential items such as water and toilet paper.
The ACLU's newly reported experiences coincide with previous expressions of concern from Senate Democrats directed towards Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, highlighting the prevalence and treatment of pregnant individuals within ICE custody. These lawmakers insist that detentions should be halted unless there are extraordinary circumstances.
In response to the ongoing scrutiny, DHS maintains that pregnant women in detention receive essential healthcare aligned with community standards, emphasizing the rarity of these detentions which they claim are closely monitored.
The ACLU, advocating for pregnant women's rights, is calling for a thorough investigation into these troubling reports, which continue to surface as the public becomes increasingly aware of the challenges faced by vulnerable populations in immigration enforcement.
