Legislation would provide permanent safeguards for pregnant and postpartum women in ICE and CBP custody; Rep. Garcia to introduce companion legislation in the House
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) led 22 senators last week in reintroducing her Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act. The legislation will protect the health and safety of pregnant, postpartum, and lactating women in immigration detention by establishing a presumption of release, prohibiting any agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from shackling pregnant women in its custody—including those in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—and setting new standards of care and transparency for the treatment of pregnant women and youth. Congresswoman Sylvia R. Garcia (D, TX-29) will soon be reintroducing companion legislation in the House.
“Shackling pregnant women in immigration custody is not only unnecessary, it is dangerous and traumatic for women and their pregnancies—and there is simply no justifiable reason for this barbaric practice,” said Senator Murray. “At a time that we have a president whose approach to immigration appears to be cruelty for cruelty’s sake, it is more important than ever that we act to ensure all pregnant women in custody are treated humanely and with respect. I will continue to fight against the gross mistreatment of pregnant women in immigration detention and am proud to join my friend Rep. Garcia in reintroducing this important legislation.”
The mistreatment of pregnant women in ICE detention has been well-documented—and without basic protections, pregnant women in ICE detention are at higher risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and other pregnancy-related health complications. A Government Accountability Office study published in 2020 found that between 2016 and 2018, ICE detained pregnant women over 4,600 times. As Congress increased its oversight of the detention of pregnant, postpartum, and nursing women that number has dropped to just 158 pregnant, postpartum, and nursing women detained in the first half of Fiscal Year 2024.
The Stop Shackling and Detaining Pregnant Women Act is supported by: The American Civil Liberties Union, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Center for Reproductive Rights, Church World Service, Families USA, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, MomsRising, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, National Council of Jewish Women, National Immigrant Justice Center, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, National Women’s Law Center, Reproductive Freedom for All, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
In the Senate, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
A one-pager on the legislation is HERE.
The full text of the legislation is HERE.
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