Trump administration to detain more pregnant immigrants, ending previous policy

A 3-year-old boy stands under a full moon after he and his mother surrendered themselves to Hidalgo County constables after crossing the border into the United States at Anzalduas Park Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016 in Mission. They came here from Honduras after local gangs threatened to harm him if she didn't give them information about her husband, who ran away when the gangs were pressuring him to join them. She hasn't heard from her husband in a year. less A 3-year-old boy stands under a full moon after he and his mother surrendered themselves to Hidalgo County constables after crossing the border into the United States at Anzalduas Park Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016 in ... more Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Houston Chronicle Photo: Michael Ciaglo, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 69 Caption Close Trump administration to detain more pregnant immigrants, ending previous policy 1 / 69 Back to Gallery

President Donald Trump's administration announced Thursday that it will no longer release most pregnant immigrants from detention, a move it said was consistent with its policy to hold immigrants rather than freeing them to await their court proceedings.

Under the new policy, immigration officers will not lean toward releasing pregnant women if they do not pose security risks or are not subject to mandatory detention for having just arrived at the border. The previous policy, issued in 2016, held that "absent extraordinary circumstances or the requirement of mandatory detention, pregnant women will generally not be detained."

"To better align our policy with the president's executive order, we are ending the presumption of release for all pregnant detainees," said Phillip Miller, a deputy executive associate director over removal at Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Pregnant immigrants who are caught crossing the border illegally are already briefly held in detention before being deported.

But if they pass a screening interview proving that they have a credible fear of returning home — the first step to obtaining asylum —the government generally released them.

Now it will detain such women as they await their asylum cases in the backlogged civil immigration courts, a process that can take months.

Miller said such women will be evaluated just like any other detainees on a "case-by-case basis," with their pregnancy one of a host of factors to determine whether they could be released and relied upon to make their court hearings.

The Trump administration has generally declined to release most immigrants it detained on bond.

But Miller said pregnant women in their third trimester would not typically be detained, mainly because they wouldn't be able to fly and so couldn't be deported in that period.

Since December 2017, when the policy went into effect, the agency has detained 506 pregnant woman, Miller said. It currently has 35 such women in detention.

It was not clear what had happened to the rest and whether they had been deported or released.

The policy change generally would not impact pregnant women who are apprehended with their small children.

The Trump administration is bound by a landmark 1997 federal settlement protecting children to release such families after 20 days in detention if they pass their asylum screening. If they are not found to have a credible fear of return, they are typically quickly deported without seeing an immigration judge in a process known as expedited removal that applies within 100 miles of the border.

Read more: Her husband murdered, her son taken away, a mother seeking asylum tells a judge, 'I have lost everything'

Immigrant advocates immediately slammed the new policy, saying it would lead to many more pregnant potential asylum seekers in detention. Many women are raped in their journey to the border, resulting in the pregnancy, or it could be part of their claim to asylum, said Michelle Brané, director of migrants rights at the Women's Refugee Commission, a national nonprofit.

She said the agency doesn't have the ability to care for pregnant women.

"There is no question based on my observations and knowledge of care and conditions in detention that the care is inadequate and that detention has a negative impact on a pregnant woman's health and well-being," she said.

The American Civil Liberties Union in September filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, asking it to investigate the agency's treatment of pregnant women in custody. Some women in the complaint said they had been denied medical care even in cases of extreme bleeding and pain. The group found the medical care for detainees varied from facility to facility and that oversight was lacking.

"This new policy further exposes the cruelty of Trump's detention and deportation force by endangering the lives of pregnant immigrant women," said Victoria Lopez, ACLU senior staff counsel, in a statement.

In the call with reporters Thursday, Dr. Ada Rivera, who oversees medical services for ICE, said the agency provides on-site pre-natal care, including vitamins and exams. Each facility currently has a gynecologist to oversee their treatment.

The announcement comes as the administration in recent months has moved to deter immigrants from coming to the southern border and making it more difficult to ask for asylum.

The ACLU filed a lawsuit this month arguing hundreds of families are unlawfully separated after prospective asylum seekers are prosecuted for illegally crossing the border, forcing the removal of their children.

Read more: ACLU challenges Trump administration practice of separating migrant parents and children

The group has also challenged a practice of detaining asylum-seekers who seek protection at ports-of-entry until they resolve their cases in the courts. They were previously usually released if they had potentially valid claims and posed no danger.

Top administration officials in recent weeks have also repeatedly blamed federal laws and settlements intended to protect children for encouraging families to come here.

It suggests increasing urgency as the number of Central American families and children coming here is once again on the rise. More than 8,600 were apprehended in February, according to the latest federal statistics.

lomi.kriel@chron.com