Additional Coverage:
- ICE loses track of how many detainees have suffered miscarriages (themirror.com)
A recent investigative report has uncovered that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has ceased tracking the number of pregnant women and teenagers who may have experienced miscarriages while in detention.
The Guardian’s extensive investigation highlights numerous accounts from pregnant detainees who struggled to access fundamental obstetric and gynecological care, as well as emergency medical services. Government records further reveal that during the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement last fall and winter, a higher number of pregnant immigrants were held in detention than at any other time in the past year.
During the first nine months of President Trump’s second term, ICE documented 18 miscarriages among detainees. However, after October 3, 2025, miscarriage data effectively disappears due to changes in the agency’s medical reporting system.
Several detained pregnant women shared with the news outlet that they either suffered miscarriages or faced serious pregnancy complications but did not receive necessary follow-up care despite ongoing symptoms and pain.
One detainee, identified as Annable, 35, only learned she was pregnant after being asked to take a pregnancy test following her arrest. About a month later, she experienced heavy bleeding and was taken to an emergency room, where she was informed she had lost the pregnancy.
Another woman, 21-year-old Laura, is currently in her second trimester with a high-risk pregnancy while detained at the Dilley detention center in Texas. Laura reports enduring persistent abdominal pain and bleeding but alleges she has been denied access to an obstetrician-gynecologist.
Medical experts warn that without adequate care-including ultrasounds to confirm complete expulsion of pregnancy tissue-women who miscarry are at risk of infections and other severe complications. While it is difficult to directly link detention conditions to miscarriages, Deborah Ottenheimer, an obstetrician-gynecologist and medical advisor with Physicians for Human Rights, emphasized that pregnant women in ICE custody are clearly not receiving sufficient medical attention during such critical events.
Internal ICE documents acknowledge the absence of miscarriage data after October 2025, attributing the gap to a change in the agency’s medical tracking system. The revelation raises serious concerns about the health and safety of pregnant detainees under ICE’s supervision.
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- ICE loses track of how many detainees have suffered miscarriages (themirror.com)