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ICE detains postpartum mother 15 days after C-section, separating her from NICU baby

Dec 5, 2025·Location: Cicero, IL

ICE detains postpartum mother 15 days after C-section, separating her from NICU baby
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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.

Timeline

Dec 5, 2025—Mother held at Broadview Processing Center; denied postpartum medical care, breast pump, adequate food and water
Dec 4, 2025—ICE detained mother days after emergency C-section
Dec 2, 2025—Mother underwent emergency C-section delivery
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