Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Their Impact on Detained Women

In U.S. immigration detention centers, women have faced documented cases of sexual abuse and inadequate care during pregnancy and postpartum periods. Reports and lawsuits reveal patterns of sexual harassment, physical abuse, medical neglect, and lack of proper reproductive healthcare for detained women.

A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of a 33-year-old woman named Ana at Baker County Detention Center details sexual harassment, physical abuse, medical neglect, and solitary confinement abuse, including stripping and restraint by male guards while she was exposed, and lack of access to feminine hygiene products and mental health care.

Human Rights Watch has documented abusive treatment in Florida facilities, including women being confined in unsuitable, unsanitary conditions, deprivation of prescribed medications, and denial of medical care even after serious health procedures like surgery. Women were sometimes held in men’s facilities without adequate privacy or basic sanitation, increasing vulnerability.

The fragmented structure of U.S. immigration detention, managed by multiple agencies (ICE, CBP, state, local, and private entities), leads to gaps in standards and enforcement, contributing to vulnerabilities and inadequate care for women. There are ongoing concerns about widespread sexual assault and abuse, lack of reproductive healthcare, adverse pregnancy outcomes including miscarriages, and coerced or unnecessary hysterectomies without informed consent in ICE detention centers.

Investigations found that between 2015 and 2021, there were 308 sexual assault and sexual abuse complaints filed by immigrants detained in ICE facilities, with more than half implicating staff members. These abuses disproportionately affect women and girls.

The evidence shows systemic failures in protecting detained women's rights, especially regarding sexual safety and reproductive health, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive reform and stronger oversight in U.S. immigration detention centers.

The threat of detention or deportation by local police working for ICE has left many immigrant victims of domestic and sexual violence too scared to seek help. ICE recently declared millions of undocumented immigrants ineligible for bond hearings, which could keep more women in detention for longer periods.

FDC Miami, a federal prison that houses both men and women, started detaining immigrants for ICE, leading to male inmates being moved onto the women's floor, limiting female inmates' movement and access to recreation rooms. There are ongoing concerns about sexual violence and sexual abuse in immigration detention facilities, with a lack of oversight and deeply disproportionate power dynamics between detainees and guards often leading to high rates of sexual assault and rape.

The number of detainees at Krome Detention Center, where Andrea was held, has increased by 249% since Trump's inauguration, according to Human Rights Watch. Andrea said she felt like a "sitting duck" and was not treated as a human while in detention.

Local law enforcement agencies can opt into 287(g) agreements with ICE, which empower local authorities to identify and detain immigrants on behalf of the federal agency. The GOP's new tax bill handed immigration officials $165 billion, including $45 billion for new detention facilities and $30 billion to hire more ICE agents.

There have been multiple reports of men impersonating ICE to attack and kidnap immigrant women. Andrea was held in a small room with no bed, shower, or access to the outdoors at Krome Detention Center. The U.S. government paid out a $116 million settlement to over 100 survivors of sexual abuse at FCI Dublin, a federal prison where sexual abuse perpetrated by prison staff was so commonplace that inmates and guards dubbed it "The Rape Club."

The Trump administration was looking to reopen FCI Dublin as an ICE detention center less than a year and a half after it shut down due to prison staff using women's immigration status to target them for sexual abuse. Male detainees at Krome Detention Center would sometimes stand on tables or chairs to look into the stalls while women were using them.

Women who emigrate to the U.S. are five times more likely to be seeking asylum from gender-based violence like domestic violence and sex trafficking. The Department of Justice denied asylum to a woman from El Salvador who was a victim of gang violence, signaling that future asylum cases based on gender, like domestic and sexual violence, will be harder to win.

The Democratic Women's Caucus wrote a letter demanding an investigation into ICE's and CBP's alleged abuse of women. There are concerns about inadequate prenatal care, dangerous pregnancy outcomes, and childbirth conditions for detained women. Andrea was denied a breast pump and had to expel her breast milk on her own.

References: [1] ACLU, "The Human Cost of Immigration Detention," https://www.aclu.org/issues/immigrants-rights/immigrants-rights-and-detention/issues-detention/human-cost-immigration-detention [2] Human Rights Watch, "All Governments Are Responsible: The Persecution of Women Seeking Asylum in the United States," https://www.hrw.org/report/2020/05/27/all-governments-are-responsible/persecution-women-seeking-asylum-united [3] Human Rights Watch, "Asylum-Seekers at Risk in Florida," https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/04/16/us-asylum-seekers-risk-florida [4] Government Accountability Office, "Immigrants and Customs Enforcement: Information on Sexual Assault and Sexual Abuse in Detention Facilities," https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-21-517

The report from Human Rights Watch reveals that inadequate care for women in U.S. immigration detention centers extends beyond Florida facilities, with systemic failures in protecting detained women’s rights, including issues in the areas of health-and-wellness, general-news, and crime-and-justice.
The documentation of inadequate prenatal care, dangerous pregnancy outcomes, and childbirth conditions for detained women highlights the need for stronger oversight in the fields of science and culture.
The evidence of widespread sexual assault and abuse in ICE detention centers emphasizes the importance of fostering a culture of accountability in politics, potentially leading to comprehensive reform to ensure the health and well-being of all individuals within U.S. detention centers.