BATON ROUGE, La. — BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Girls taken into custody by U.S. immigration brokers whereas pregnant say they obtained insufficient care in a letter Wednesday that calls on the Trump administration to cease holding expectant moms in federal detention amenities.

The letter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a part of a broader marketing campaign in current months by Democrats and immigrant rights teams to attract consideration to what they are saying is the mistreatment of pregnant ladies who’ve been detained in Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The Division of Homeland Safety has defended the care given to pregnant detainees, saying they’re given common prenatal visits and dietary assist. The company didn’t instantly present figures on the variety of pregnant ladies in detention, as Democrats have demanded.

The letter despatched by the American Civil Liberties Union provides accounts from pregnant ladies who say they had been shackled whereas being transported, positioned in solitary confinement for a number of days and given inadequate meals and water whereas held in detention amenities in Louisiana and Georgia.

The ACLU stated that over the previous 5 months it has met with greater than a dozen females who had been pregnant whereas in ICE custody — together with some who had a miscarriage whereas detained. The ladies reported “gravely troubling experiences,” the letter states, together with lack of translation throughout medical encounters and medical neglect. One suffered a “extreme” an infection after her miscarriage.

In an interview with The Related Press, a kind of girl stated she was saved in handcuffs whereas being transported to Louisiana — a journey that lasted 5 hours and spanned two airplane rides. The lady, who has since been launched from custody and given delivery, spoke on the situation of anonymity out of worry of dealing with retaliation throughout her ongoing case.

An officer advised her he thought-about taking off {the handcuffs} however apprehensive she would escape. “How am I going to flee if I’m pregnant?” the lady stated she responded.

She stated she felt as if she’d been kidnapped and skilled dizziness, nausea and suffered from vaginal bleeding. Throughout her time within the detention facility, she stated pregnant ladies weren’t supplied particular diets and described the meals as horrible. She alleged that detainees needed to “beg” for water and bathroom paper.

The ACLU’s letter is the most recent name for an investigation into the arrest and remedy of pregnant detainees.

Senate Democrats wrote Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem in September, expressing issues concerning the “prevalence and remedy” of pregnant, postpartum and nursing ladies in ICE custody and demanded that the company cease detaining such individuals except there are “distinctive circumstances.”

Democratic lawmakers have additionally stated details about the variety of pregnant ladies in ICE custody has been troublesome to determine.

DHS has stated that pregnant detainees obtain common prenatal visits, psychological well being providers, dietary assist, and lodging “aligned with neighborhood requirements of care.”

“Detention of pregnant ladies is uncommon and has elevated oversight and overview,” the company stated in an August press launch.

___ Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas.