ICE detention center
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Federal judges are questioning the Department of Homeland Security after government lawyers said the agency was "unable to identify" any reason it had detained a nursing immigrant mother, a statement that has intensified judicial scrutiny of how immigration authorities handle pregnant and postpartum detainees.
The disclosure came during a recent case in Wisconsin in which a judge asked why a woman with a six-month-old child had been taken into custody. Justice Department attorneys said they consulted DHS and could not determine a justification for her detention. The episode is part of a broader pattern cited by courts reviewing cases involving pregnant or nursing women held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Judges in multiple states have described cases in which detainees were separated from infants or held in conditions that raised medical concerns, as POLITICO points out. U.S. District Judge Michael Davis ordered the release of a legally admitted refugee who had been transferred out of state while breastfeeding, writing that she had "lost important bonding and nursing time with her baby."
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt similarly ruled that one woman's continued detention "irreparably deprives her of her liberty" and risks harm to both her and her child. In another case, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Thurston said a detainee appeared to have been denied adequate care, noting she suffered clogged milk ducts after being unable to nurse and receiving no breast pump.
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The disputes have been compounded by uncertainty over federal policy. A Justice Department lawyer told a court last August that a Biden-era rule limiting detention of pregnant and nursing immigrants had been effectively revoked by a Day One executive order, while another government attorney later said the policy remained in force.
U.S. District Judge Susan Nelson expressed skepticism of the rescission claim, noting the order "contains no references to nursing mothers." DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said pregnant detainees make up 0.133% of those in custody and receive medical screenings, prenatal visits and emergency care.
Outside courtrooms, additional reports have drawn attention to detention practices affecting vulnerable migrants. In Texas, officials placed more than a dozen pregnant unaccompanied minors, some as young as 13, in a converted building in San Benito despite internal objections that the area lacked specialized medical care. One federal health official said: this group of kids is clearly recognized as our most vulnerable."
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Tags: Wisconsin, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security