A United States Senate investigation has identified more than 500 credible reports of human rights abuses in US immigration detention since January, including alarming allegations of mistreatment of pregnant women and children.
As of late last month, the investigation—led by US senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat of Georgia—had unearthed 41 cases of physical and sexual abuse; 14 involving pregnant detainees and 18 involving children.
The accounts of abuse span facilities in 25 states and include Puerto Rico, US military bases, and charter deportation flights. Among the most harrowing: a pregnant woman reportedly bled for days before being taken to a hospital, only to miscarry alone without medical attention. Others described being forced to sleep on the floor or denied meals and medical exams. Attorneys reported that their clients’ prenatal checkups were canceled for weeks at a time.
Children as young as 2 were also subjected to neglect. One US citizen child with severe medical needs was hospitalized multiple times while in Customs and Border Protection custody, where an officer allegedly dismissed her mother’s pleas for help by telling her to “just give the girl a cracker.” Another child recovering from brain surgery was reportedly denied follow-up care, and a 4-year-old undergoing cancer treatment was deported without access to doctors.
The Senate investigation found most abuse reports at detention centers in Texas, Georgia, and California, spanning both facilities run by the Department of Homeland Security and federal prisons used under Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agreements. The findings are based on dozens of witness interviews, Ossoff’s office says, including detainees, family members, attorneys, correctional staff, law enforcement, doctors and nurses, as well as site inspections of detention centers in Texas and Georgia.
The report also cites corroborating news investigations and public records, drawing on sources such as WIRED, Miami Herald, NBC News, CNN, BBC, and regional outlets like Louisiana Illuminator and VT Digger.
Together, these sources formed the foundation of what the report describes as an “active and ongoing investigation” into systemic mistreatment of pregnant women and children in US custody.
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ICE did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
A WIRED investigation published in late June focused on 911 calls from 10 of the nation’s largest ICE detention centers, and it revealed a pattern of medical crises ranging from pregnancy complications and suicide attempts to seizures, head injuries, and allegations of sexual assault. (WIRED shared its findings with Ossoff’s office upon request last month.)
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