U.S. immigration authorities continue to hold pregnant immigrants in detention despite a federal directive that took effect in 2021 and bars such custody except in “exceptional circumstances.” Advocacy groups, legal complaints, and recent oversight moves say the practice persisted through October 2025, raising fresh questions about policy compliance, medical care in detention, and accountability inside the immigration system. The issue sits at the center of a growing clash between written rules and on-the-ground decisions that directly affect the health and safety of mothers-to-be held by the United States 🇺🇸.
The 2021 directive and what it requires
The 2021 policy—issued under President Biden—directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to avoid detaining people who are pregnant, postpartum, or nursing, except in rare cases involving:
- A national security risk
- An imminent threat to self or others
- Mandatory detention required by law
The directive also requires officers to perform weekly custody reviews to confirm whether detention remains justified. In brief, the policy reestablished a presumption of release: detention should be the exception, not the norm, for pregnant people.
Key steps the policy outlines:
1. Weekly custody reviews to evaluate continued detention.
2. Mandatory release unless detention is required by law or extraordinary circumstances apply.
3. A clear written record explaining why any detention continues under the “exceptional circumstances” standard.
Advocates and reports say these safeguards frequently break down in practice: detentions continue without documented justification or without the frequent reviews the policy requires.
Policy and practice at odds
The 2021 directive was positioned as a reversal of policies from the Trump administration. Between 2017 and 2021, ICE ended a longstanding presumption of release for pregnant people, coinciding with a sharp rise in detentions and reports of health harms, according to medical groups and advocates.
The Biden directive intended to restore the presumption of release and make detention an exception. Yet multiple analyses, including work cited by VisaVerge.com, show a widening scrutiny from lawmakers, medical organizations, and human rights groups observing that practice often does not match written policy.
Health risks cited by medical groups
Medical and human rights organizations warn that detention poses serious risks for pregnant people. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics have both criticized immigration detention for pregnant individuals, citing risks such as:
- Bleeding
- Vomiting and severe nausea
- Headaches and dizziness
- Untreated complications (e.g., hypertension, diabetes)
- Miscarriage
Their concerns rest on clinical realities: pregnancy care is time-sensitive and requires steady access to prenatal services, nutrition, and specialized monitoring—conditions detention settings often struggle to provide.
Reported gaps in care and facility practices
Complaints and advocacy reports describe multiple concrete problems inside detention:
- Difficulty accessing prenatal vitamins
- Delays in ultrasounds and lab tests
- Inconsistent attention to warning signs (cramping, spotting)
- Transfers between facilities that disrupt care and medical records
- Limited staffing, transportation, or procedural delays that slow referrals
Pregnant detainees have reported heavy bleeding, severe nausea, and delayed attention to urgent symptoms. These gaps can escalate health risks quickly, especially for those with high-risk pregnancies.
“Pregnancy care is time-sensitive… detention settings often struggle to provide” — concerns echoed by medical groups and advocates.
Oversight moves and legal actions in 2025
Oversight and transparency efforts intensified in 2025:
- In January, Senator Jon Ossoff opened a formal investigation into alleged human rights abuses in immigration detention, explicitly including the treatment of pregnant detainees.
- Women’s rights and immigration groups, including the Women’s Refugee Commission, filed FOIA requests seeking records on ICE detentions of pregnant, postpartum, and lactating people to assess how often the 2021 policy is followed.
- Advocates requested probes from the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) into individual cases and facility practices.
For people seeking to file a civil rights complaint or request an investigation, the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties provides instructions and contact options on its official site at https://www.dhs.gov/crcl.
Documentation, FOIA, and advocacy findings
Several organizations have pressed for more complete public records:
- The Women’s Refugee Commission and partners have issued FOIA requests throughout 2025, arguing ICE’s public data on pregnant people in custody and outcomes of weekly reviews is incomplete or hard to access.
- The American Immigration Council and ACLU have filed complaints documenting persistent detentions and inconsistent healthcare.
- Investigative reporting and legal filings point to cases where the “exceptional circumstances” rationale appears thin, unexplained, or undocumented.
Inside facilities, conditions vary:
- Some centers have better medical staffing and faster referrals.
- Others depend on off-site providers, lengthening wait times and disrupting continuity of care.
- Many detainees still do not receive the recommended number of prenatal visits for their pregnancy stage.
For those with preexisting or high-risk conditions (e.g., hypertension, diabetes), even brief delays can be dangerous—advocates argue such situations should favor release under the 2021 policy.
Legal landscape and practical advice
The legal frame for ICE’s detention of pregnant people has shifted over the past decade:
- Under the Trump administration, the presumption of release ended and detentions rose.
- The Biden 2021 policy restored the presumption of release and required weekly reviews and medical access.
However, enforcement remains uneven. ICE officers retain discretion at intake and during reviews. If officers assert a mandatory detention rule or “extraordinary circumstances,” detention may continue—but the policy requires written documentation and weekly reassessment.
Practical steps attorneys recommend for detained clients:
– Document pregnancy status early (tests, medical records).
– Keep copies of any medical paperwork.
– Request custody reviews in writing to trigger weekly reassessments.
– Contact rights groups and, when appropriate, submit complaints to CRCL.
These measures aim to create a clearer paper trail and prompt timely review, though follow-through varies by facility and local ICE office.
What detained families report
Recurring health issues described in complaints and reports include:
- Bleeding
- Prolonged vomiting
- Severe headaches and dehydration
- Dizziness
- Emergency room visits after alleged delays in care
- Miscarriages in some reported cases
In addition to physical harms, detainees report severe stress, anxiety about miscarriage, and confusion navigating medical requests—challenges amplified by language barriers and unfamiliarity with U.S. medical systems. Because detention is a closed environment, detainees often depend on staff to flag symptoms, and rotating or overburdened personnel can mean warnings go unaddressed.
Advocacy demands and proposed reforms
Advocates and rights groups are calling for:
- ICE to publish regular data on custody levels for pregnant, postpartum, and nursing people
- Public reporting on outcomes of weekly reviews and release timelines
- Stronger training for officers on the 2021 policy
- Clear medical escalation procedures
- Swift release whenever care needs exceed a facility’s capacity
They argue that better transparency, stronger oversight, and facility-level accountability are necessary to align practice with the policy’s intent.
Broader questions and current status
The debate over detaining pregnant immigrants raises a broader policy question: when should immigration enforcement yield to medical realities? The 2021 policy sets a high bar for detention, but critics say practice still falls short.
As of October 2025, the conflict between the written policy and reports of continued detentions remains unresolved. Ongoing oversight—Senate investigations, FOIA efforts, CRCL and OIG probes—and public pressure aim to clarify how decisions are made inside facilities and whether safeguards on paper are respected.
For pregnant people in custody, each day matters: missed appointments and delayed care carry real risks. Whether stronger oversight, public data, and facility-level accountability will close the gap between policy and practice is now a critical test of the administration’s approach to humane immigration enforcement.
This Article in a Nutshell
U.S. immigration authorities continued detaining pregnant, postpartum, and nursing people through October 2025 despite a 2021 Biden-era directive that made such custody an exception. The policy mandates weekly custody reviews, written justifications for continued detention under “exceptional circumstances,” and a presumption of release unless detention is legally required. Advocacy groups, medical organizations, and oversight actions — including FOIA requests and a Senate investigation opened in January 2025 — documented persistent detentions, poor access to prenatal vitamins, delayed ultrasounds and lab tests, disrupted care from transfers, and inconsistent written records. Medical societies warn detention raises risks like bleeding, untreated hypertension or diabetes, severe nausea, and miscarriage. Advocates call for transparent public data, stronger officer training, clear medical escalation procedures, and swift releases when care needs exceed facility capacity. Ongoing CRCL and OIG probes, legislative scrutiny, and FOIA efforts aim to determine whether written safeguards are being enforced and to push ICE toward greater accountability and better medical care for pregnant detainees.
