Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recorded at least 18 miscarriages among people in its custody between January and Oct. 3, 2025. After that, the count stops. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has since confirmed it has no miscarriage data for October 2025 through June 2026, nine months in which the number of pregnant women and adolescents in detention was climbing.
Sixty-seven House Democrats have given ICE until Friday, Nov. 6, to fill the gap. Black readers have reason to watch: Black women in the United States die of pregnancy-related causes at about three times the rate of white women, and Black immigrants from Haiti, West Africa and elsewhere are among the people ICE detains. But no one can say how many of the women in this story are Black, because the numbers made public do not break them down by race. That is one more thing the record leaves out.
The Oct. 16 letter was led by Reps. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado, Joyce Beatty of Ohio and Robin Kelly of Illinois. They cite agency records showing at least 87 pregnant women and adolescents in detention in October 2025 and 101 in November. DHS data show 498 bookings of pregnant, postpartum and nursing people between Jan. 1, 2025 and mid-February 2026.
“Women are reporting pregnancy emergencies without adequate care, and ICE cannot even account for how many women have miscarried in its custody. That is appalling,” Pettersen said. Beatty said she was “horrified by the growing number of reported miscarriages and the blatant disregard for women’s health in ICE detention facilities.” Kelly said pregnant women in custody “have continuously been denied access to routine and emergency medical care.”
What is documented, and what is not
The Guardian first reported the gap. According to its reporting, ICE internal documents blamed a change in the agency’s medical accounting. Medical claims had run through the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Financial Services Center, a contract that ended in October 2025. A Virginia company, Acentra Health, took over, and claims processing was delayed.
A DHS spokesperson first told the Guardian that ICE was still tracking miscarriages in monthly reports. The spokesperson later said the department “does not have data on miscarriages from October 2025 through June 2026.” DHS maintains that ICE Directive 11032.4, which restricts detaining pregnant people except under legal requirements or “exceptional circumstances,” remains in effect, and that pregnant detainees get prenatal appointments, mental health services and nutrition support.
Accounts from the women differ. An ACLU-backed letter documented more than a dozen women who described mistreatment while pregnant in custody. One said she was left bleeding and not examined by medical staff until the next day, then needed a blood transfusion after being taken to an emergency room in shackles. Another said she spent three days in solitary confinement after officials questioned her pregnancy. Detainees also described trouble getting ultrasounds, blood tests, prenatal vitamins and follow-up care. DHS has previously denied such allegations, saying detainees receive “proper meals, medical treatment” and 24-hour emergency care. These accounts have not been independently confirmed.
The lawmakers want the total number of pregnant people detained since Jan. 20, 2025, the criteria ICE uses to justify detention under the “exceptional circumstances” standard, a full accounting of miscarriages, stillbirths and complications since Oct. 3, 2025, an explanation of why the data is missing and what is being done to recover it, and records of denied or delayed care and complaints filed.
The answers are owed by ICE’s acting director and, above him, DHS. No response to the letter had been made public as of Sunday. Friday is the deadline.
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