Pregnant Honduran mother detained by ICE, separated from breastfeeding children
Jan 23, 2026·Location: Louisiana, LA
Country of origin: Honduras

Cecil Elvir-Quinonez, a 25-year-old Honduran national who has lived in the U.S. since 2014, was arrested on New Year's Eve 2025 after being stopped for speeding in Louisiana. She was separated from her two American-born children, including a five-month-old still breastfeeding at the time of arrest. While in ICE custody, Elvir-Quinonez discovered she was pregnant with her third child. She experienced heavy bleeding and cramps but received limited medical care beyond one emergency room visit. Her youngest child has been repeatedly sick since her arrest, and her five-year-old has developed new speech difficulties. Advocacy groups including the ACLU and National Immigration Project report that Elvir-Quinonez's case is part of a documented pattern: more than a dozen women have suffered medical neglect and mistreatment while pregnant in ICE custody, including cases of women shackled during miscarriages, denied prenatal care, and given inadequate nutrition. The advocacy coalition has urged ICE to release all pregnant detainees.
Timeline
Sources
- Threads
- 19thnews.org
- Over a Dozen Women Report Medical Neglect, Shackling, and Miscarriages in ICE Custody, Advocacy Groups Claim
latintimes.com·Oct 23, 2025·archived copy
- Detained immigrant's pregnancy fails while in ICE custody - Nashville Banner
nashvillebanner.com·May 27, 2025·archived copy
- Pregnant Women in ICE Detention Suffer Miscarriages, Neglect
ACLU·Oct 27, 2025·archived copy
- ICE denied surgery to a migrant woman whose C-section scar ripped open while she was detained in Texas for 4 months
businessinsider.com·Nov 4, 2018·archived copy
- Pregnant woman in LA detained, deported to Nicaragua, family says
- Castro alleges poor conditions, pregnant women held at ICE detention center in Dilley
news4sanantonio.com·Feb 20, 2026·archived copy
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