Trump officials end policy exempting pregnant immigrants from detention

The Trump administration will no longer seek to automatically release pregnant immigrants from detention- a move in line with the overall efforts by the administration to hold far more immigrants in custody than its predecessors

The Trump administration will no longer seek to automatically release pregnant immigrants from detention- a move in line with the overall efforts by the administration to hold far more immigrants in custody than its predecessors

The Trump administration will no longer seek to automatically release pregnant immigrants from detention - a move in line with the overall efforts by the administration to hold far more immigrants in custody than its predecessors.

However officials cautioned that the new directive does not mean that all pregnant women will be detained.

Immigrant organizations immediately blasted the policy change as an example of human rights abuses under President Trump, but it remained unclear how many more pregnant women might be jailed for deportation as a result.

With the change, outlined in a December 14 directive signed by acting ICE Director Thomas Homan, ICE will no longer presumptively release pregnant women from detention.

In 2016, Thomas Homan, now the director of ICE and then the executive associate director, issued in a memo for agency staff that said "absent extraordinary circumstances or the requirement of mandatory detention, pregnant women will generally not be detained by ICE".

Under the new policy, pregnant women will be released from immigration detention only on a case-by-case basis.

Immigration authorities are required by law to hold certain people regardless of pregnancy, including people convicted of crimes listed in the Immigration and Naturalization Act or placed in fast-track removal proceedings when they are arrested crossing the border.

Hot Stock of the Day: Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC)
Thomaspartners Inc decreased Kimberly Clark Corp (NYSE:KMB) stake by 5,992 shares to 220,565 valued at $26.61 million in 2017Q4. About 37.97M shares traded or 5.21% up from the average. (NYSE:JPM) has risen 23.99% since March 29, 2017 and is uptrending.

French vegan in court for comments on butcher killed by Islamist
Beltrame has been hailed as a national hero, with family members saying it was typical of him to put others first. Right-wing political opponents have pressed Macron to deal firmly with radical preachers and Salafist mosques.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Shares Rating Lowered by Zacks Investment Research
ValuEngine cut shares of GlaxoSmithKline from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Westchester Management Incorporated accumulated 104,423 shares. 8,675 are held by Peloton Wealth Strategists.

The change in policy could pave the way for more pregnant women to be held in detention facilities while they await lengthy court proceedings about whether they can stay in the United States, facilities that are already decried by critics for tough conditions.

The policy quietly took effect in December, and Miller said he did not know if it has led to an increase in pregnant detainees.

"The insane 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.

The National Immigrant Justice Center, a nonprofit that advocates for immigrants' rights, called the new policy "little more than blanket prolonged detention for all immigrants". Still, she said she was not surprised by the policy change ― it is one that immigrant rights advocates feared was coming after Trump's executive order previous year. "In addition, ICE ensures access to comprehensive counseling and assistance, postpartum follow up, lactation services and abortion services".

The changes, which will apply to pregnant women seeking asylum, bring ICE policy closer in line with an executive order signed by President Donald Trump a week after taking office a year ago. Alternatives to detention, like mandatory check-ins or ankle bracelets, are both more humane and less expensive for taxpayers than detaining pregnant women, she said. Trump has aggressively peeled back Obama's protections for undocumented immigrants.

Federal officials also have separated parents from their children after they crossed the border illegally and issued new rules that make it harder to get an asylum hearing before a judge.

Recommended News

We are pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news.
Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper.
Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.