HUMSI — Human Security Initiative

Human Impact Project

A living database documenting reported immigration enforcement incidents and their human impact.

Brazilian woman detained by ICE after 911 call, denied care for miscarriage infection

Sep 8, 2026·Location: Burlington, MA

Country of origin: Brazil

Brazilian woman detained by ICE after 911 call, denied care for miscarriage infection
Photo via Instagram

Iara do Carmo Santana, a 29-year-old Brazilian woman working as a house cleaner, was arrested by Malden police after her fiancé, Gabriel Lemos, called 911 out of concern for her mental health following a recent miscarriage and related infection. She was booked, released from police custody, then detained by ICE, which accessed her information through a shared FBI database, and held for roughly four days at ICE's Burlington, Massachusetts field office. She said she received no medical evaluation upon arrival and was often denied her prescribed antibiotics, causing her infection symptoms to worsen. Federal judge Leo T. Sorokin ordered her release on September 8, criticizing ICE for its failure to provide necessary medical care. She was reunited with Lemos, a legal permanent resident she plans to marry next year, and her 6-year-old son. Do Carmo Santana has a pending asylum case and holds employment authorization. "I was afraid that I was going to go crazy in there," she said. "I was really scared."

Timeline

Sep 8, 2026—Federal judge Leo T. Sorokin ordered her release, criticizing ICE for failing to provide medical care
Sep 1, 2026—Fiancé Gabriel Lemos called 911 for a mental health crisis; Malden police arrested Iara do Carmo Santana and charged her with domestic violence
Sep 1, 2026—After release from police custody, ICE detained her and transferred her to its Burlington, Massachusetts field office, where she was denied prescribed antibiotics and medical evaluation
Sep 1, 2026—She was reunited with her fiancé and 6-year-old son after roughly four days in ICE custody
Suggest a correction, comment, or update

Sources

More incidents in Massachusetts