Sixty-seven House Democrats are asking U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to account for miscarriages and other serious pregnancy outcomes in detention, citing incomplete records and seeking an explanation for the gap.
The Oct. 13 letter, led by U.S. Reps. Brittany Pettersen, Joyce Beatty and Robin Kelly, asks Acting ICE Director David Venturella for information from Oct. 3, 2025, onward. It seeks counts of miscarriages, stillbirths, pregnancy-related hospitalizations, emergency transfers and other serious complications, as well as details about detention decisions involving pregnant people.
Agency records cited in the letter show at least 18 women miscarried in ICE custody from January 2025 through Oct. 3. The document also says records showed at least 87 pregnant women and adolescents in detention in October 2025 and 101 in November.
The Guardian reported Oct. 30 that a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told the newspaper ICE had no miscarriage data for October 2025 through June 2026. The lawmakers ask ICE to explain the missing figures, describe any effort to recover them and say when agency leaders learned of tracking problems.
An ICE directive issued July 1, 2021, generally advises against detaining people known to be pregnant, postpartum or nursing for administrative immigration violations, unless the law bars release or exceptional circumstances apply. It also requires medical monitoring and monthly reports to agency leadership.
The letter recounts detainees’ reports of delayed emergency care and difficulty reaching specialists or obtaining blood tests, ultrasounds, prenatal vitamins and medical records. Pettersen said ICE should be held accountable and provide the records lawmakers say are missing.
DHS spokesperson Chandler Rebel told The Guardian in September that the directive remained in place. Rebel also said pregnant detainees receive prenatal visits, mental-health services and nutritional support.
A September Guardian investigation citing internal ICE documents linked the data gap to the end of the agency’s medical-billing contract with the Veterans Affairs Financial Services Center and delays to a replacement claims system. Obstetrician-gynecologist Deborah Ottenheimer told the newspaper that attributing an individual pregnancy loss solely to detention conditions can be difficult.
The request follows an earlier House inquiry into ICE detention conditions. ICE is asked to respond to the latest letter by Nov. 6, 2026.
