A Guatemalan woman seeking asylum in the United States was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Nashville this past May, separating her from two young children including a nursing infant and a toddler with Down syndrome. The woman now sits in a detention facility nearly 700 miles from her family.
The detainee, identified by the pseudonym Maria Pérez for protection against potential retaliation, was preparing to take her children to a medical appointment when ICE agents arrived at her residence on May 19. According to a civil rights complaint filed this week, agents were seeking the father of her children, who faces separate federal charges. Though Pérez was not named in any warrant and was not the target of the enforcement action, she was taken into custody.
Pérez fled what advocates describe as severe domestic violence in Guatemala and had been pursuing asylum through proper legal channels. She has no criminal history, according to Katie Blankenship, founder and managing attorney of Sanctuary of the South, an immigration and civil rights organization.
“A mother getting her children into car seats to go to a doctor’s appointment is just ripped away from her children,” Blankenship stated. “It’s just living an absolute nightmare. It’s a mother’s worst fear.”
Since the detention, Pérez’s daughters have been in the care of a neighbor. The family has no other support network in the area.
The complaint, filed with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General and other federal agencies, was submitted by Sanctuary of the South and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. The action has garnered support from the ACLU of Louisiana, the Robert and Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center, and Amnesty International.
At issue is whether ICE violated its own policy directive regarding the detention of pregnant, postpartum, and nursing women. According to established guidelines, such individuals should not be detained or arrested unless exceptional circumstances exist, such as presenting a national security risk or posing a danger to public safety.
“ICE and DHS continue to show blatant disregard not just for their own policies but for basic humanity,” said Spring Miller, senior director of legal strategy at the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.
The Department of Homeland Security responded Thursday evening, stating that “pregnant and nursing women in ICE detention are exceedingly rare.” A spokesperson noted that when such cases occur, detainees receive regular prenatal visits, mental health services, nutritional support, and accommodations aligned with community standards of care. The department did not explain the specific circumstances that led to Pérez’s detention.
The Trump administration has not revoked the policy protecting pregnant and nursing women from detention. However, advocacy organizations report that as overall arrests and detentions have increased substantially, they have observed a corresponding rise in the number of pregnant, nursing, and postpartum women being held in detention facilities.
The case raises fundamental questions about enforcement priorities and the application of existing policies designed to protect vulnerable populations while maintaining border security.
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