"A woman identified in the letter as Marie said a doctor told her that she was pregnant in December after she entered the United States on a valid tourist visa and that the pregnancy was considered high risk because of underlying medical conditions. She said she was detained while she was traveling from the United States to Canada after her original identity documents were stolen and she was given an electronic version as a replacement while she waited for the paper copies, the letter says.
She was then sent to an ICE facility several states away, where, the letter claims, she endured multiple instances of 'medical neglect and psychological harm' during the 20 weeks she was in custody. She said she was held in solitary confinement for at least three days after officials there 'did not believe her when she informed them of her pregnancy.'
In the letter, Marie says that she was given poor-quality food she was often unable to eat, denied access to prenatal vitamins and given a vaccination without her consent and that she was not given translation services to know what the vaccine contained. On several occasions, she 'reported severe cramps and requested medical help but was ignored,' the letter says, adding that Marie was released after legal advocates intervened.
Her time in detention 'completely scarred her psychologically. It created major complications to her pregnancy,' said Mich González, a co-founder of the Sanctuary Now Abolition Project, which advocates for immigrants.
Marie cried every day and night for a week, and she suffered from night terrors after she was released from detention, according to the letter. She developed eclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication characterized by elevated blood pressure and convulsions, in the final weeks of her pregnancy, the letter says. González said her condition was 'so severe she remained hospitalized for a long while after giving birth because she was at risk of organ failure.'
'She continues to struggle with postpartum depression, in large part due to the trauma she experienced while detained,' it says."
~ Daniella Silva
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