Show an ad over header. AMP

ICE to end detentions of most pregnant, nursing and postpartum undocumented immigrants

09 July 2021
Dan Ackermann

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will no longer detain most pregnant, nursing and postpartum undocumented immigrants, per a new policy released Friday.

Why it matters: The policy is the latest move by the Biden administration to ease immigration detention policies implemented during the Trump administration.

  • The policy reverses a Trump-era rule passed in 2017 that “ended the presumption of release for all pregnant detainees," per the Washington Post.
  • ICE detained pregnant individuals more than 4,600 times from 2016 to 2018, according to a Government Accountability Office report.

The big picture: ICE's new policy expands on Obama-era rules that exempted most pregnant individuals from immigration detention.

  • The Biden administration's policy also includes those who gave birth within the year and those who are nursing.
  • The language in the new policy will be gender neutral, acknowledging that transgender men can give birth, marking another change from prior policy, according to the New York Times.

What they're saying: "ICE is committed to safeguarding the integrity of our immigration system and preserving the health and safety of pregnant, postpartum, and nursing individuals," acting ICE director Tae D. Johnson said in a statement.

  • "Given the unique needs of this population, we will not detain individuals known to be pregnant, postpartum, or nursing unless release is prohibited by law or exceptional circumstances exist."

Of note: Pregnant and postpartum immigrants may still be detained if they pose "an imminent risk of death, violence, or physical harm" or is a national security concern, according to ICE.

Go deeper: Biden's major border shake-up

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

Section2

Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.