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Two months after<\/span> Iris Dayana Monterroso Lemus lost her son to a stillbirth last year while detained by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, the Trump administration issued a public response to her allegations that she did not receive prenatal care.<\/p>\n \u201cThis reporting is absolutely FALSE,\u201d said Tricia McLaughlin, then a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, in a statement. \u201cIris Dayana Monterroso-Lemus had FULL medical, prenatal care.\u201d<\/p>\n The statement, labeled as a \u201cFact Check,\u201d said the Guatemalan-born Monterroso Lemus had \u201creceived prenatal care, including an ultrasound and OB-GYN visit.\u201d<\/p>\n Neither side of the disputed account provided evidence to back up their claims.<\/p>\n Now, federal government documents obtained by The Intercept appear to undermine the Trump administration\u2019s version of events. The documents show a lack of basic care needed for a healthy pregnancy, according to expert analysis. One document from an outside healthcare center made after the stillbirth describes a \u201cpregnancy complicated by lack of PNC\u201d \u2014 meaning prenatal care.<\/p>\n \u201cThe administration was engaged in CYA \u2014 cover your ass,\u201d said Dr. Andrea Schecter, an OB-GYN physician with a decade\u2019s experience working with high-risk pregnancies, including those of immigrants. \u201cThey know that what they provided is probably not sufficient care.\u201d<\/p>\n The new records, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, include documents from Monterroso Lemus\u2019s visit to Ochsner LSU Center, a healthcare facility in Shreveport, Louisiana, after she complained for days about not feeling fetal movement. It was the only recorded instance of her leaving Richwood Correctional Center, an ICE detention facility run by the family-owned private prison giant<\/a> LaSalle Corrections.<\/p>\n The Ochsner LSU documents, produced after the stillbirth, say that Monterroso Lemus had told medical staff at Richwood that \u201cthis pregnancy didn\u2019t feel right a couple days ago but nothing was done.\u201d<\/p>\n Other new records include timelines produced by ICE that show a referral for an OB-GYN appointment but don\u2019t indicate that any visit was scheduled or took place, or that Monterroso Lemus ever received an ultrasound.<\/p>\n Asked about the new documents, a spokesperson from the Department of Homeland Security simply repeated the previous claims that Monterroso Lemus received regular, timely prenatal care without responding to queries.<\/p>\n On May 9, ten days after losing her son, Monterroso Lemus was shackled, put on a plane, and deported to Guatemala, causing<\/a> her postpartum visit to be canceled.<\/p>\n Ten days after losing her son, Monterroso Lemus was shackled, put on a plane, and deported to Guatemala.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cEveryone knows that ICE and DHS lie on a daily basis \u2014 and Americans have witnessed the deadly consequences of this administration\u2019s reckless actions for nearly two years,\u201d said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., when asked about the case. \u201cThe Trump administration\u2019s barbaric treatment of pregnant women in immigration custody is unconscionable.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, the Trump administration is detaining many more pregnant women than before. During the Biden administration, for example, ICE would detain about a dozen pregnant women nationally during a year, said Eunice Cho, an immigration attorney with expertise in detention conditions. During a congressional visit to Louisiana\u2019s Basile detention center last April, however, there were 14 in that one facility.<\/p>\n\u201cFlouting the Directive\u201d<\/h2>\n
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