Organization denounces end of protection for pregnant women and migrant children detained in the US

Washington, (EFE) – A U.S. civil rights organization reported that Immigration quietly revoked several policies that protected vulnerable people in its custody, such as pregnant women, infants, older adults, and those with serious medical conditions.

Based on an internal memo signed this week by Acting CBP Commissioner Pete Flores, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) noted that protections adopted during the administration of Democrat Joe Biden (2021-2025) were eliminated.

Among them, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) removed the provision of water and diapers for detained babies and protocols to expedite the release of people in medically dangerous situations.

According to the ACLU, in the document, Flores argued that these policies were “misaligned with the agency’s current guidance and immigration enforcement priorities.”

The ACLU, along with its chapters in San Diego and Imperial County, California, has warned for years about inadequate conditions and lack of medical care at border facilities, it said in a statement.

They cite the case of a woman forced to give birth while holding onto a trash can inside a Border Patrol station, and that of Anadith Reyes, an 8-year-old girl who died after spending a week in custody without receiving necessary medical care.

The rescission of these policies, which established the most basic care for the most vulnerable, reflects “the cruelty that underpins the Trump administration’s immigration agenda,” ACLU Executive Director Sarah Mehta said in a statement.

“CBP has a history of providing inadequate medical care to young children and pregnant women in its custody, resulting in multiple preventable tragedies,” the ACLU stressed.

He lamented that “instead of implementing meaningful reforms to protect medically vulnerable individuals, it is doubling down on its utter disregard for families and children.”

“Although the agency attempted to quietly repeal these protections, our members of Congress must not allow this measure to go unnoticed,” Mehta noted.

According to the ACLU, CBP has not issued additional public comments on the memo or detailed what, if any, replacements it will implement following the withdrawal of these humanitarian guidelines.