WASHINGTON — MomsRising is urging Congress to pass the Pregnant Women in Custody Act, citing mounting reports of abuse and medical neglect involving pregnant women held in ICE detention facilities.
Beatriz Beckford, national director for youth and family justice at MomsRising, said enactment of the Pregnant Women in Custody Act is an urgent priority as accounts of abuse and neglect in ICE detention continue to emerge.
MomsRising is a national online and on-the-ground organization of more than 1 million mothers and their families.
Beckford said, “Moms across the country are horrified and heartbroken by reports of pregnant women in ICE custody placed in solitary confinement, denied adequate food and medical care they need to maintain healthy pregnancies.”
According to an NBC News article by Daniella Silva, more than a dozen women reported to advocates and their attorneys that they suffered mistreatment and neglect while pregnant and remained in ICE custody.
Eunice Cho, senior counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Prison Project, said there are “women who are talking about being shackled and restrained while they’re actively miscarrying.”
Cho added that some were “begging and pleading for things as basic as prenatal vitamins and being denied,” while others lost pregnancies in detention because of a lack of proper medical care.
In addition to the ACLU and its Louisiana chapter, the National Immigration Project, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and the Sanctuary of the South and Sanctuary Now Abolition Project signed a letter sent to ICE officials and Senate committees.
The purpose of the letter was to “identify and release all pregnant women in custody and to refrain from detaining anyone known to be pregnant, postpartum or nursing.”
One case described in the letter involved a woman identified as Lucia, who experienced “heavy vaginal bleeding and cramping in the middle of the night” while detained at an ICE processing center.
Advocates reported that although she requested immediate medical attention, she was not taken to see medical staff members until the following day.
According to the letter, “medical staff did not give her any food, water, or pain medication for several hours,” and she was transported to an emergency room after a significant loss of blood.
Silva wrote that the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to the letter. In August 2025, a DHS spokesperson denied allegations of mistreatment of pregnant detainees in a statement to NBC News.
Beckford said on behalf of MomsRising that “this is an emergency and a matter of basic human rights,” and emphasized that Congress needs to pass the Pregnant Women in Custody Act immediately.
She added that the Act is necessary to “prevent senseless and cruel tragedies,” and to protect the health of pregnant women and their babies detained or incarcerated across federal agencies.
Beckford also praised Sydney Kamlager-Dove “for her leadership in introducing this bill and expanding its protections across federal agencies.”
“The Pregnant Women in Custody Act would help safeguard pregnant and postpartum women in federal custody by establishing enforceable standards for access to health care, high-risk pregnancy supports, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and family unity,” Beckford explained.
She added that the Act provides “protections against unsafe practices such as restraints and restrictive housing,” improves data collection, and strengthens oversight and enforcement.
Beckford stated, “As Mother’s Day approaches, we honor and remember all moms, including those who are jailed, incarcerated, and detained.”
“No one should ever suffer abuse or neglect in federal custody, or the health emergencies, pregnancy loss, and trauma that can result,” Beckford said.
Beckford concluded that MomsRising “will continue to fight for the health, safety, dignity, and human rights of every person, and for our tax dollars to go toward policies our families need.”
She said those policies include “affordable child care, health care, SNAP, and Medicaid, not more ICE cruelty, reckless wars, and billionaire tax cuts.”
Beckford also added that “Moms reject Republican leaders who are putting cruelty and chaos over the stability that America’s families and our economy need to thrive.”
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