July 9th marks the day that USCIS announced they would not longer arrest women who were pregnant nursing or postpartum. This is important to understand because USCIS was currently detaining women in these conditions; conditions like the ones in detention centers could be extremely crucial for women who are delicate or have health issues.
According to a recent article posted by Immigration Impact, “In one testimony, a 31-year-old Honduran woman named Teresa recounted suffering a miscarriage while in detention. While in detention, she informed ICE officials that she was four months pregnant, bleeding, and in pain. Despite this, her requests for medical attention were denied. After suffering the miscarriage days later, officials confiscated the medicine she had purchased from the ICE commissary. Teresa remained locked up, even though she was experiencing headaches, weight loss, and other health issues”. These actions raise major red flags and are very concerning not only for the health of the woman but also for the innocent baby. Being detained and having to deal with pregnancy could be a very traumatizing experiencing, therefore lessening the detention of pregnant women has been a long overdue change in the immigration system.
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