ICE said Thursday that pregnant women are no longer automatically released as a matter of immigration enforcement policy, a reversal by President Donald Trump’s administration from Obama-era measures.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said the new policy was part of Trump's executive order last year directing the agency to sweep up anyone caught in the country illegally, The Washington Post reported.
The policy overturned former President Barack Obama's orders to ICE to mainly detain and deport criminals and those who had recently crossed the border, the Post said.
"In terms of risks to the community, we look at criminal history," Phillip Miller, deputy associate director of ICE told The Hill. "Just as there are men who commit violent acts, heinous acts, so too have we had women in custody who have been convicted of committing heinous, violent acts."
The ICE website said all "custody determinations are now made on a case-by-case basis. This does not mean that all pregnant aliens will be detained; only those whose detention is necessary to effectuate removal, as well as those deemed a flight risk or danger to the community."
The policy brought complaints from numerous immigrant rights groups.
"This shameful policy from ICE is the latest example of the administration's broader and blatant anti-immigrant campaign," said Mary Meg McCarthy, executive director of the National Immigrant Justice Center, said in a statement Thursday.
Michelle Brané of the Women's Refugee Commission, one of the groups that filed a complaint last year against the detention of pregnant women, told the Huffington Post the administration can seek other alternatives, like mandatory check-ins or ankle bracelets.
"The crazy thing about it is they're claiming it's because they should be treated like everyone else and that they're going to go after everybody who has immigration status issues, but the reality is that those aren't your only options," Brané said. "Not detaining a pregnant woman doesn't mean she won't have to go through the immigration legal process."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.