Baton Rouge, Louisiana — BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Women detained by U.S. immigration agents while pregnant say they received inadequate care in a letter Wednesday calling on the Trump administration to stop detaining pregnant mothers in federal detention facilities.
The letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is part of a broader campaign in recent months by Democrats and immigrant rights groups to draw attention to what they say is the mistreatment of pregnant women detained in Trump’s anti-immigration crackdown.
The Department of Homeland Security has defended the care provided to pregnant detainees, saying they receive regular prenatal visits and nutritional support. The agency did not immediately provide figures on the number of pregnant women in detention, as Democrats had demanded.
The letter sent by the American Civil Liberties Union gives accounts from pregnant women who said they were restrained during transport, placed in solitary confinement for several days and did not receive adequate food and water while being held in detention facilities in Louisiana and Georgia.
Over the past five months, the ACLU said it has encountered more than a dozen women who became pregnant while in ICE custody — including some who had miscarriages in custody. The women reported “extremely disturbing experiences,” the letter said, including the lack of interpretation during medical encounters and medical neglect. One of them developed a “severe” infection after her miscarriage.
In an interview with The Associated Press, one of those women said she remained handcuffed while being transported to Louisiana, a five-hour journey that spanned two plane rides. The woman, who has since been released from custody and given birth, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of facing retaliation during her ongoing case.
An officer told her he was considering removing the handcuffs but was afraid she would be able to escape. “How am I going to escape if I’m pregnant?” The woman said she responded.
She said she felt as if she had been kidnapped, and felt dizzy, nauseous and had vaginal bleeding. She said that during her time in the detention center, special diet meals were not provided to pregnant women, and she described the food as terrible. She claimed that detainees were forced to “beg” for water and toilet paper.
The ACLU’s letter is the latest call for an investigation into the detention and treatment of pregnant detainees.
Senate Democrats wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in September, expressing concerns about the “prevalence and treatment” of pregnant, postpartum, and lactating women in ICE custody and demanding that the agency stop detaining such people unless there are “exceptional circumstances.”
Democratic lawmakers also said it is difficult to verify information about the number of pregnant women in ICE custody.
Pregnant detainees receive regular prenatal visits, mental health services, nutritional support, and accommodations “consistent with community standards of care,” DHS said.
“The detention of pregnant women is rare and requires heightened oversight and review,” the agency said in an August press release.
___ Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas.