In a reversal of Barack Obama’s disastrous immigration policy protecting pregnant illegals and mandating their release from detention, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Thursday it is implementing a new policy that allows for detention of pregnant illegal immigrants.
Although the policy was signed in December, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) only announced it on Thursday because they wanted to ensure it was implemented correctly.
Illegal Immigrants from El Salvador including a 7-month pregnant woman with a U.S. Border Patrol agent at the border. Credit: Getty Images/John Moore
In a statement to the media, the agency said that “To better align the President’s Executive Order, ICE has ended to the presumption of release for all pregnant detainees.”
Under the new directive, ICE officers will no longer default to trying to release pregnant illegal aliens in their custody who are subject to deportation. The Department is only carrying out an Executive Order from President Trump which requires a uniform policy that applies to all immigrants.
However, the change doesn’t guarantee that all pregnant women will be held, but it nonetheless removes the presumption that they be released.
ICE is set to detain pregnant illegal aliens in reversal to the Obama policy of releasing them before deportation. Credit: Getty Images/John Moore
A spokesman for Homeland Security pointed out that application of the policy requires a “case-by-case basis” evaluation and further explained ICE will keep in custody only those pregnant women “whose detention is necessary to effectuate removal, as well as those deemed a flight risk or danger to the community.”
The FAQ published on ICE’s website also mentioned that it will not detain pregnant women during their third trimester “absent extraordinary circumstance.”
“To mischaracterize this as some kind of wholesale change or draconian change is inaccurate. We’re aligning this policy, as all our policies, with Executive Orders from the President,” said Philip Miller, a top at ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.
Under the new Trump policy, ICE agents can now detain pregnant illegal immigrants pending deportation. Credit: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
With every female detainee from 10-56 years or of child-bearing age required to undergo a mandatory pregnancy test at the beginning of their detention, a total of 506 pregnant women have been detained by ICE since December, some of whom have either been released or deported.
As of March 20, there were 35 pregnant illegal aliens in ICE custody.
An ICE agent take intake photo of a heavily pregnant illegal immigrant at the point-of-entry at the US-Mexico border, Texas. Credit: Reuters
Contrary to what open borders and illegal immigration advocates say about the ill-treatment of pregnant illegals in detention, ICE provides medical service and prenatal offers those discovered to be pregnant medical attention, prenatal vitamins and have lab tests and meetings scheduled for them including whatever recommendation is prescribed by a medical professional.
Detention policy is further complicated by the fact that there are some illegal immigrants who are considered “mandatory” detainees — a reference to those who are generally caught at the border and those whose records Congress has said require detention.
ICE can now detain illegal pregnant women in custody pending immigration hearings and deportations.
According to ICE, many pregnant women who end up in their custody are already “mandatory” detainees, meaning they were already in detention even during the old Obama-era policy.
Of the 35 pregnant illegal aliens in custody as of last week, all were “mandatory” holds, said ICE.
All other illegal migrants in deportation proceedings are evaluated on a case-by-case basis to see whether they should be held as flight risks or out of public safety concerns.
DHS has pushed for the detention of pregnant illegals who are subject to deportation in an effort to reduce the numbers of those allowed to remain in the country while awaiting court proceedings which often take years to process.
By the time deportations are finalized, illegal immigrants would have built new lives, had families and even settled in communities across the country.
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