Missing ICE miscarriage records raise concerns over pregnant detainee care
Three women in ICE custody described pregnancy complications and miscarriages, while the agency has not released data on such cases since October 2025.
A Nicaraguan asylum seeker named Anabell discovered her pregnancy during a routine ICE check-in and subsequently miscarried while in a Kentucky detention center, receiving limited medical attention and no follow-up care. Two other detainees, Angie in California and Laura in Texas, reported similar outcomes, with Laura’s request for a specialist consultation still pending. ICE’s official records list 18 miscarriages in the first nine months of the second Trump administration, but data collection abruptly ends on October 3, 2025, leaving a gap through June 2026.
The Department of Homeland Security asserts that ICE continues to monitor pregnancy-related health issues according to Directive 11032.4, which limits detention of pregnant, postpartum, or nursing individuals except for “exceptional circumstances.” Nevertheless, the rise in detained pregnant women—from 158 in early fiscal 2024 to at least 498 between January 2025 and February 2026—has intensified scrutiny of the agency’s compliance with its own health-monitoring mandates.
Why it matters
It highlights potential gaps in medical oversight for vulnerable detainees and calls for greater transparency from ICE.
In this story
