Pro-Lifers Tell ICE: Stop Detaining Pregnant, Postpartum, and Nursing Women

via Rehumanize International:

A coalition of more than 30 pro-life organizations and thought leaders is calling on the Trump administration to reinstate federal protections preventing the detention of pregnant, postpartum and nursing women in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.

In an open letter to President Trump, Secretary Noem and Acting ICE Director Lyons, the coalition argues that immigration policy does not require putting unborn children and their mothers at risk by keeping them in detention centers.

via the open letter:

We respectfully urge your administration to:

    1. Formally reinstate and enforce the July 2021 ICE guidance prohibiting the arrest and detention of individuals known to be pregnant, postpartum, or nursing, except where release is legally prohibited or exceptional circumstances exist (such as national security or imminent risk of harm).

    2. Require ICE field offices to obtain headquarters-level approval before detaining any pregnant, postpartum, or nursing woman.

    3. Restore transparency by publishing semi-annual data on the number of pregnant, postpartum, and nursing women in ICE custody and the justification for each detention, as previously required by Congress.

    4. Review all current cases and immediately release pregnant, postpartum, and nursing women who do not pose a genuine security threat.

Alternatives to detention, such as monitoring, check-ins, and community-based supervision, are well established, far less costly, and significantly more humane. These mechanisms preserve immigration enforcement while safeguarding maternal, fetal, and infant health.

Detaining pregnant and nursing women is not a necessary feature of immigration policy. Reinstating protections for pregnant, postpartum, and nursing women reflects sound medical judgment and responsible governance.