Human Impact Project

Nayra Guzmán, a 22-year-old immigrant from Mexico living in Cicero with a pending asylum petition and a visa application for crime victims, was detained by ICE agents 15 days after an emergency C-section, during a delivery complicated by preeclampsia. Agents arrested her, her mother and her younger brother as they drove to visit her newborn daughter, who remained on a ventilator in the NICU. She was held for about 34 hours at Broadview Processing Center, a facility criticized for overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and limited medical care, where she was denied postpartum care, a breast pump, and adequate food and water while still trying to produce breast milk for her daughter. Her detention occurred amid the Trump administration's Operation Midway Blitz enforcement campaign in the Chicago area, which has expanded arrests of pregnant, nursing and postpartum immigrants previously protected under prior DHS policy.

Beatriz Pastrana Candela, detained by ICE in Tempe last November, said medical and detention staff at the Eloy Detention Center repeatedly told her she was not pregnant despite a positive pregnancy test, and she later miscarried. She was placed in a segregated room for her mental health after reporting hallucinations in which she saw herself holding her baby and heard voices telling her to hurt herself, and she needed a wheelchair due to difficulty walking; she described the small, barred outdoor area she was allowed into as another cage. Five months after the miscarriage, Pastrana remains in detention, and the Florence Project has worked with three other women who were pregnant at Eloy between January and June 2026, including one held until she was seven months pregnant.

Beatriz Pastrana Candela was nearly three months pregnant when ICE agents arrested her at a Tempe hotel in November 2025 and detained her at Eloy Detention Center in Arizona, where medical and corrections staff repeatedly told her she was not pregnant despite her reporting pain. She miscarried in detention and remains held five months later, separated from her three children, including a 14-year-old. Arizona Rep. Adelita Grijalva called her treatment "a shocking failure of basic humanity," and her case is cited in a congressional review by Sen. Jon Ossoff's office documenting inadequate medical care for pregnant people in ICE custody since January 2025.

A Mexican mother of a 10-month-old was arrested by ICE agents while driving her taxi near O'Hare International Airport and detained at the Broadview facility. She lacked access to a lactation room to pump breast milk for her daughter. A federal judge ordered her release on October 31, the day after her habeas case was filed.

Marie, a woman who entered on a valid tourist visa and was detained after her identity documents were stolen, was held at an ICE facility for 20 weeks while pregnant with a high-risk pregnancy. She was placed in solitary confinement for at least three days after officials disbelieved her pregnancy report. During her detention, she was given poor-quality food, denied prenatal vitamins, vaccinated without consent and without translation services, and ignored when she reported severe cramps and requested medical help. After advocates intervened and she was released, she developed eclampsia and required extended hospitalization after giving birth. She continues to struggle with postpartum depression related to her detention trauma.

Lucia, a woman detained at an ICE processing center, experienced heavy vaginal bleeding and cramping in the middle of the night but was not taken to see medical staff until the next day. Medical personnel left her bleeding alone without food, water, or pain medication for several hours. She was eventually transported to an emergency room about an hour away while shackled, where she required a blood transfusion and was informed she had suffered a miscarriage. She was returned to ICE custody still experiencing abdominal pain and heavy bleeding a month later, and has since been deported.

A woman identified as Alicia experienced severe abdominal pain, cramping, and vaginal bleeding while in ICE custody. Medical staff performed invasive procedures without consent and she was told she had miscarried, then returned to detention. She was denied follow-up medical care for over two months despite continued bleeding and severe pain. After deportation, she was diagnosed with a serious infection caused by lack of treatment during detention.

Nayra Guzmán, a 22-year-old Mexican immigrant with pending asylum and visa applications, was detained by ICE in late October 2025 while traveling to a hospital to breastfeed her newborn daughter, who was in the NICU following birth complications. Guzmán had given birth via C-section approximately 15 days prior and was experiencing severe postpartum pain and a breast infection at the time of arrest. She was held at the Broadview ICE facility alongside her brother and mother, despite all three presenting valid work permits and documents showing they had been in the U.S. since 2022 after fleeing cartel violence in Mexico. During her approximately 34–36 hour detention, Guzmán was held in overcrowded conditions without adequate medical care, blankets, food, or water. A federal judge ordered the release of Guzmán and her family members, preventing their scheduled transfer to detention facilities in other states.

A pregnant woman in Berwyn, Illinois was confronted by an ICE agent who pointed a gun at her car window while she was honking her horn to alert people to the presence of ICE officers conducting an enforcement operation. The woman, Lesly Guevara, said she was attempting to warn her community about the agents' presence. A DHS spokesperson stated the agent acted to protect himself and showed restraint, and characterized Guevara's actions as aggressive and threatening.

Guilherme Lemes Cardoso E Silva, a 35-year-old Brazilian visual artist and former attorney based in Sausalito, was detained by ICE agents on July 11, 2025, while driving on San Juan Island, Washington, to pick up his 4-year-old daughter. His wife, Rachel Leidig, who is an American makeup artist 7 months pregnant with their first child due in October, says ICE agents surrounded Silva's car with approximately six unmarked vehicles, refused to show a warrant, confiscated his phone while he was recording, and used physical force during the arrest, pushing him against the car and handcuffing him. Silva, who entered the U.S. on a valid six-month visa eight years ago and overstayed his status, had no criminal record and was in the final stages of applying for a green card through an I-130 petition filed by his wife after they married in April 2025. ICE agents claimed to have found illicit images on Silva's phone and charged him with possessing depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Silva was held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, where according to Leidig he was subjected to invasive searches, made to sleep on the floor with 35 other detainees, and shackled during transport. On July 29, a judge ordered Silva's release on bond, which Leidig paid in full, but ICE transferred him to Whatcom County without explanation, complicating his legal representation. On September 12, after 63 days in custody, Silva was released on personal recognizance. On October 6, a judge dismissed the criminal charges against him without prejudice, four days before the birth of his newborn son, Isidore. The Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney indicated charges could be refiled pending investigation completion. Leidig speculated that the detention may have been related to a custody battle Silva was involved in.

Marie, a graduate student and lawful visitor to the United States, was detained for more than 20 weeks at Basile detention center during a high-risk pregnancy. Despite informing ICE officers of her pregnancy, she was placed in solitary confinement after being transferred thousands of miles from the U.S.-Canada border. Medical care was delayed until other detained women advocated for her. She was denied prenatal vitamins and provided inedible food. Marie was released only after legal advocates intervened. After her detention, she developed eclampsia, endured a difficult delivery, and continues to struggle with postpartum depression linked to her detention trauma.

Monica, 38, who has lived in the United States for two decades without legal immigration status, is expecting her fourth child in November. Her three older children are U.S. citizens but are experiencing stress related to their parents' immigration situation. Monica's husband also lacks authorization to live in the country. Although Monica has continued with prenatal care appointments, her anxiety about immigration enforcement and reports of ICE presence in hospital maternity wards have colored her pregnancy experience. She and her family have reduced their time outside the home and are taking precautions when they do leave.

Jorge was arrested at an ICE check-in at the federal building and deported on October 3, 2025—just two days before his daughter Maite was born. His wife Jessica, a U.S. citizen and elder care worker, was left alone to care for their newborn and her 9-year-old son Dylan on a single income. Jessica grew depressed and anemic during her pregnancy as she worried about Jorge's fate. Since his deportation, Dylan has struggled in school, Jessica has lost their apartment to eviction, and she is pursuing legal avenues for Jorge's return—a process attorneys say could take years. Friends pooled money for plane tickets so Jessica and her children could visit Jorge in Ecuador to meet their newborn daughter in person.

In Berwyn, Illinois, a federal agent walked toward a pregnant driver with his gun raised after she honked to warn others that immigration agents were nearby. The woman, Lesly Guevara, was driving with her fiancé and their 10-month-old son to pick up groceries when she said a Jeep blocked her vehicle and she began honking; she said she believed she was about to be killed. DHS said the video shows her "aggressively barreling toward law enforcement while speeding and honking her horn," calling it a "threatening and aggressive act," while Chicago Ald. Raymond Lopez said the confrontation could have ended badly and that officers are trained to view being boxed in as life-threatening. She asked the agent, "You're really gonna shoot a pregnant woman?"

An asylum seeker and U-Visa applicant was arrested as she and her family loaded into their car in Cicero, Illinois, for the daily drive to see her days-old premature newborn in the NICU. She was held for about 34 hours in a facility that has faced allegations of overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and limited medical care, during which she was still trying to produce breast milk for her daughter. She was later released from immigration custody.

At Chicago O'Hare International Airport, ride-share drivers — including, in one sweep, a nursing mother — were blocked in and questioned about their status by federal immigration agents. In a separate incident, a ride-share driver who produced an Illinois ID and work authorization had his car boxed in, window broken, was fired on with a Taser twice after the first attempt failed, and then tased again after being pulled from the vehicle. Border Patrol agents later confirmed 12 people were arrested in a parking lot where ride-share drivers typically wait between rides, part of the broader 'Midway Blitz' enforcement operation. In response, Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Illinois Drivers Alliance announced 'Know Your Rights' trainings for drivers and plans to post signage barring civil immigration enforcement from the O'Hare rideshare lot.

a 24-year-old Colombian migrant, Angie Rodriguez, suffered a miscarriage in the facility. Upon discovering her pregnancy while in detention, she was provided no medical care or prenatal vitamins. Her diet was also inadequate, forcing her to supplement provided meals with instant ramen, chips, and candy, often purchased at a high cost from the commissary.

A 26-year-old San Jose woman learned of her pregnancy and miscarriage in a Central California immigrant detention facility.

A 26-year-old San Jose asylum-seeker miscarried while detained at Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield after being denied immediate medical care for severe bleeding and cramping; she was shackled during hospital transport and required a blood transfusion. According to migrant rights advocates, her case may reflect a broader pattern, with evidence suggesting ICE is not following required protocols for pregnant and postpartum detainees, who are being held in unprecedented numbers without adequate medical care and food.

Cary López Alvarado, a U.S. citizen, was arrested by ICE while nine months pregnant after exiting immigration court in New York City alongside her husband, a Guatemalan immigrant. ICE detained her overnight but released her after discovering her citizenship status. She experienced sharp stomach pains immediately after release and gave birth days later. She has filed a claim against the federal government seeking $1 million, citing unlawful arrest and unconstitutional conduct. Her husband has since been deported, leaving her without income and uncertain about childcare arrangements.