Nayra Guzmán, a 22-year-old immigrant from Mexico and new mother, stands for a portrait in her home on Nov. 24, 2025, in Cicero, Illinois. She was detained 15 days after giving birth while her daughter remained in the NICU. (Photo by Jaime Kelter for The 19th)
Nayra Guzmán knew there was something wrong with her daughter within hours of her birth — a long and complicated delivery that included a diagnosis of preeclampsia and ended in a Cesarean section. In the haze of recovery, the first-time mom noticed her daughter was struggling to breathe. When the baby started turning blue, Guzmán watched as doctors whisked her away to the neonatal intensive care unit.
In the days that followed, the 22-year-old’s sole focus was her daughter’s recovery, even as their home, the greater Chicago area, became the latest target of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda in a campaign titled Operation Midway Blitz.
This report was originally published by The 19th. The Illuminator is a founding member of the 19th News Network.
“We weren’t worried about the immigration raids,” said Guzmán, an immigrant from Mexico who has a pending petition for asylum and a pending application for a visa for victims of crime. “Our worry was, ‘How are we going to get this baby home and out of the hospital?’ That was our number one priority, that she would be safe and healthy, and everything else had fallen to the background.”…