A pregnant woman in immigrant detention was bleeding for days before staff took her to a hospital where she miscarried, according to a new report from Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.).
Her account is one of hundreds of human rights abuses documented by Ossoff’s team as they’ve scrutinized conditions at immigrant detention facilities across the country. Their findings, which NBC News first published, include 14 credible reports of mistreatment of pregnant women, 18 credible reports of mistreatment of children and 41 credible reports of physical and sexual abuse that occurred while immigrants were in detention.
The Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Prisons and Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (All three oversee different facilities mentioned in the Ossoff report.)
“Any claim that there are subprime conditions at ICE detention centers are false,” DHS Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told NBC News.
These accounts add to investigations by news outlets and human rights organizations that have exposed abysmal living conditions and specific abuses directed at women in immigrant detention. As HuffPost’s Alanna Vagianos reported, women have been deprived of medical care for pregnancies, vulnerable to sexual assault and subject to gawking by male detainees.
Ossoff’s report, which is based on public records along with interviews with detainees, correctional staff and attorneys, echoes these concerns. Some names were omitted from the report, which includes accounts from a range of detention facilities in places including Texas, California and Georgia.
“In an interview with the Senator’s staff, a pregnant detainee described repeatedly requesting medical attention and being told to ‘just drink water’ instead of receiving an exam,” the report reads. “Attorneys have reported that their pregnant clients have waited ‘weeks’ to see a doctor in DHS custody, and that their scheduled appointments were canceled,” it adds.
Pregnant women were also observed sleeping on the floor in crowded cells, one anonymous agency official said.
In the case of the pregnant detainee who miscarried, her partner says she was taken to the hospital and “left in a room, alone, to miscarry without water or medical assistance, for over 24 hours.”
Ossoff’s report also describes instances when kids were denied medical treatment while in detention.
In one instance, a girl who is a U.S. citizen was hospitalized three times while in custody with her non-citizen parent.
“When the girl began vomiting blood, the mother begged for medical attention. A CBP guard reportedly responded, ‘Just give the girl a cracker,'” the report says.
Another 10-year-old U.S. citizen recovering from brain surgery continues to suffer from “continued brain swelling and speech and mobility difficulties” after she was denied follow-up care while detained with her family.
All told, the report notes that Ossoff’s office has been able to identify 510 credible reports of human rights abuses in detention since Jan. 20 of this year. Other abuses it describes include violent disciplining of detainees, the prevalence of unsanitary living conditions and the inadequate provision of food and water.
