by Edward Sifuentes, ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties Senior Communications Strategist
After more than 40 days in an immigration detention facility, Maria Solis, an Oceanside pregnant mother, was released to her family on September 12.
Solis, who has had a history of difficult pregnancies, was in such fear for the health of her unborn baby that after weeks of detention she requested to be deported to her native Mexico — rather than risk another day incarcerated.
Calls for her release garnered widespread community support, including help from MomsRising, a nonprofit advocacy organization concerned with issues affecting mothers and families.
The ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties wrote a letter to ICE asking for her release.
Fortunately, ICE relented and released her.
![Released from detention1 Released from detention1](https://www.aclu-sdic.org/sites/default/files/styles/content_area_full_width/public/wysiwyg/released_from_detention1.jpeg?itok=MFm49FsR)
The reason those figures are important is that the Department of Homeland Security has an Obama-era policy not to hold expectant mothers in its facilities unless there is some extraordinary reason.
Thus, the question is: Does the Trump administration intend to maintain the policy or not? The answer is not yet clear.
Seeking answers, the ACLU and other immigrant rights groups filed a complaint on September 26 with the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of pregnant women detained by ICE. The complaint requests that DHS look into cases of miscarriage and investigate and report the steps ICE has taken to implement and oversee its policies.
When attorneys for Solis requested in August that she be released, the agency denied the request in a two-sentence letter. The assistant field officer director at the Otay Mesa Detention Facility where she was being held wrote that after reviewing the case, Solis’ release was “not warranted.” He did not explain the reason for his decision.
![released from detention2 released from detention2](https://www.aclu-sdic.org/sites/default/files/styles/content_area_full_width/public/wysiwyg/released_from_detention2.png?itok=lnD9xdku)
There is no doubt that incarceration creates serious health risks for expectant mothers. The emotional and physical pressures inherent to detention produce unnecessary stress and trauma that can cause complications during pregnancy.
At least two women reported having miscarriages in the last two years while they were detained by ICE.
In recognition of these risks, former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson issued a policy memorandum in 2014 dictating that absent “extraordinary circumstances” or the requirement of mandatory detention, the agency should not detain pregnant women. That policy was reiterated and expanded a year ago by the current acting .
Solis clearly should never have spent such a long time in custody. Throughout her detention, there were reports of troubling incidents, such as inconsistent access to appropriate prenatal vitamins, fainting episodes, broken ultrasound machines in the medical facility, close exposure to cleaning chemicals, manual labor and harsh treatment by staff.
But the questions remain. Why was she denied her request for a discretionary release, why was she detained for 42 days and why are there so many pregnant women ICE custody?
The agency must answer these questions and be transparent about whether it plans to follow its own policy on detaining pregnant women in the future.
Story originally published on SanDiegoFreePress.org.