Pregnant woman 'forced' to give birth at a border patrol station with her pants on, agents under probe
Immigration agents in California are reportedly being probed after an immigrant mother accused the officials of abusive treatment. The mother alleged that she was forced to deliver a baby at a border patrol station, according to reports.
The woman, identified as a 27-year-old Guatemalan, delivered her baby at Chula Vista Border Patrol station near San Diego in February while standing over a trash can with her pants on, according to a complaint filed with the US Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General. The complaint stated that the woman, who was not named, was in pain, coughing, and repeatedly asked agents for help after a desert crossing. However, she was told to sit down and wait for processing.
Nearly 30 minutes later, the woman's husband heard the baby crying through the mother's pants, which he lowered and saw the child's head crowning. As the incident occurred, the couple's two daughters, aged 2, and 12, looked on horrified, according to BuzzFeed.
The mother was later interviewed about her alleged mistreatment at a family shelter run by Jewish Family Service of San Diego. The shelter then reached out to the American Civil Liberties Union and together the agencies filed a complaint on the woman's behalf.
The border patrol, a few days later, released a press brief, explaining that the woman and her family were caught crossing the border illegally and "the mother did not appear to be in distress and did not request any medical attention." The brief also stated that the medical staff at the station "noticed she was in labor" and "prepared an area for the mother to give birth."
State lawmakers also asked answers from the agency regarding the incident. Sen Richard Blumenthal wrote a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari demanding an investigation. The letter was reportedly signed by 12 other members of Congress, including Senators Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, and Amy Klobuchar.
According to a senior director of immigration services at the Jewish Family Service of San Diego, Kate Clark, the woman, and her family are now with their relatives in another part of the United States.
"We've been in contact with her and … letting her know what advocacy is happening on her behalf," Clark said. "It was such a horrific experience that, she's expressed to us, if shedding light on her case could make a difference in this happening to other people, that's all the more reason to continue to move forward with the complaint."
This is not the first complaint filed about the mistreatment of pregnant immigrant women under President Donald Trump's Department of Homeland Security. The Trump administration, in December 2017, overturned an Obama-era policy of only holding pregnant people in immigration custody under extreme circumstances. Trump's Homeland Security has been permitted to hold anyone pregnant unless they are in their third trimester of pregnancy. Ever since the overturning of the previous policy, there have been multiple reports of abusive treatment of pregnant women at the hands of the border agents.