Pregnant women have reported bleeding, miscarriages, being shackled and other instances of medical neglect while in US immigration custody, according to a group of prominent civil rights organizations.
The groups – which include the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and its Louisiana chapter, the National Immigration Project, Robert F Kennedy Human Rights, Sanctuary of the South and Sanctuary Now Abolition Project – sent a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Senate committees on Wednesday, describing interviews with more than a dozen women.
“ICE has issued detainers, arrested, and taken pregnant individuals into custody, even after they have informed officers of their pregnancy, in violation of agency guidance,” the letter said.
It noted in particular that ICE had “detained several cases of pregnant individuals arising from domestic disputes. This practice endangers survivors of domestic violence, particularly pregnant individuals, who are more vulnerable to abuse and violence.”
Some of the pregnant women reported being shackled and held in other restraints during transport; detention in solitary confinement; delayed and substandard prenatal care; denial of prenatal vitamins; inadequate food; lack of interpretation and translation in medical encounters; medical care without informed consent; and medical neglect leading to dangerous infection after miscarriage, the letter said.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The letter specifically detailed the experience of six women held in two detention centers in Basile, Louisiana, and Lumpkin, Georgia.
One woman, identified as “Alicia”, described being separated from her two children and detained by ICE in April at Basile, where she learned she