WASHINGTON — More than 250 civil and human rights organizations called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today to reverse a recent policy change from the Trump administration regarding the detention of pregnant individuals and to reinstitute a general presumption that pregnant individuals should not be subject to detention.



Though ICE has detained pregnant women in the past, the directive issued by the Trump administration eliminates the general presumption that ICE should not detain pregnant individuals except in extraordinary circumstances and removes critical reporting requirements regarding the treatment of pregnant individuals.



In a letter led by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Reproductive Rights, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Women’s Refugee Commission, the coalition strongly urges ICE to discontinue its recently-announced policy of detaining pregnant individuals, asking that instead they be released to continue their cases outside of detention. The groups assert that the immigration detention system has proven itself incapable of handling the healthcare needs of vulnerable populations, and the letter provides specific examples of pregnant individuals who experienced inadequate care and mistreatment while in detention.



Advocates reminded ICE that “No one, regardless of immigration status, should be denied necessary reproductive healthcare. Arbitrary detention of pregnant people also violates international human rights norms.”



The letter states that the pregnant individuals in detention have experienced “delayed access to prenatal care, threatening both the pregnant individual’s health and the health of their fetus. Some women have tragically suffered miscarriages while being held in detention. Nursing mothers report not being given information about or supplied with breast pumps that would allow them to maintain their milk supply while separated from their children.”



“ICE’s policy change will likely result in more pregnant individuals in detention and pregnant individuals detained for longer periods of time, thus exacerbating these problems and further endangering the lives of pregnant people,” advocates conclude.



In addition to the 276 organizations calling on ICE to reinstitute a presumption of release for pregnant individuals in its custody, several medical and mental health organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Mount Sinai Human Rights Program, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians, have stated their opposition to the recent policy shift, citing the harmful effects of detention on the medical and mental health of pregnant individuals.



The full text of the letter can be found here.