{"id":326713,"date":"2025-12-02T21:00:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T21:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/326713\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T21:00:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T21:00:15","slug":"her-baby-was-in-the-nicu-she-was-in-ice-detention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/326713\/","title":{"rendered":"Her Baby Was In The NICU. She Was In ICE Detention."},"content":{"rendered":"

This story<\/a> was originally reported by Mel Leonor Barclay and Shefali Luthra of The 19th<\/a>. Meet Mel <\/a> and Shefali<\/a> and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy.<\/p>\n

Nayra Guzm\u00e1n knew there was something wrong with her daughter within hours of her birth \u2014 a long and complicated delivery that included a diagnosis of preeclampsia<\/a> and ended in a Cesarean section. In the haze of recovery, the first-time mom noticed her daughter was struggling to breathe. When the baby started turning blue, Guzm\u00e1n watched as doctors whisked her away to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the days that followed, the 22-year-old\u2019s sole focus was her daughter\u2019s recovery, even as their home, the greater Chicago area, became the latest target of President Donald Trump\u2019s immigration enforcement agenda in a campaign titled Operation Midway Blitz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t worried about the immigration raids,\u201d said Guzm\u00e1n, an immigrant from Mexico who has a pending petition for asylum and a pending application for a visa for victims of crime<\/a>. \u201cOur worry was, \u2018How are we going to get this baby home and out of the hospital?\u2019 That was our number one priority, that she would be safe and healthy, and everything else had fallen to the background.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That changed on the morning of Monday, October 20. Just 15 days after her daughter\u2019s birth, as Guzm\u00e1n, her mom and younger brother loaded into their car for their daily drive to the NICU, they were surrounded by immigration enforcement agents and whisked away to detention.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since Trump took office in January, the administration has abandoned Department of Homeland Security policies<\/a> restricting<\/a> the arrest and detention of immigrants who have recently given birth, are pregnant or are nursing. As a result, the administration has taken into custody immigrants like Guzm\u00e1n, who are medically vulnerable and whose detention threatens not only their own health but also that of their newborn children \u2014 typically U.S. citizens \u2014 by depriving them of early bonding beneficial to a baby\u2019s lifelong wellbeing.<\/p>\n

\"HandsNayra Guzm\u00e1n holds documents stating that she was detained by immigration officers and released on November 24, 2025, in Cicero, Illinois. This image has been edited to protect her privacy.
(Jamie Kelter Davis for The 19th)<\/p>\n

The administration\u2019s sudden expansion of immigration arrests in Chicago meant Guzm\u00e1n was in the government\u2019s custody for about 34 hours. She was kept\u00a0 in a holding facility that was intended to house people for only a small fraction of that time \u2014 one that has come under intense scrutiny<\/a> amid allegations of overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and limited medical care<\/a>. Even though she was still trying to produce breast milk for her daughter, Guzm\u00e1n had limited access to food and water at the Broadview Processing Center and was never provided a breast pump. She said she was never assessed by a medical professional while in the government\u2019s custody. Guzm\u00e1n was left to manage the pain of her C-section recovery as well as her Type 1 diabetes with the supplies she had in her backpack at the time of her arrest.<\/p>\n

ICE did not respond to a request for comment on Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s detention or the general conditions at Broadview for immigrants who have recently given birth.<\/p>\n

Medical professionals say the conditions of many detention facilities \u2014 crowded, dirty and with inconsistent access to health care, food and water \u2014\u00a0are a threat to most people\u2019s health. They pose particularly acute concerns for people who are still navigating the physical and psychological weight of postpartum recovery like Guzm\u00e1n.<\/p>\n

\"ANayra Guzm\u00e1n shows her continuous glucose monitor on her arm on November 24, 2025, in Cicero, Illinois. She was detained while recovering from a C-section and managing Type 1 diabetes. (Jamie Kelter Davis for The 19th)<\/p>\n

News reports, lawyers, Democratic lawmakers and immigration rights activists have identified dozens of cases<\/a> of pregnant, postpartum and nursing individuals who have been detained and whose health has suffered as a result. But the total amount remains unknown: In March, the Republican-led Congress let lapse a requirement that Homeland Security report twice a year on the number of pregnant, postpartum and nursing individuals who have been detained. The Trump administration has declined to provide that information despite repeated requests from lawmakers, The 19th and others.<\/p>\n

Now, as the administration expands its immigration enforcement campaign, exporting its Chicago strategy to Charlotte and New Orleans, Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s case offers a rare window into detention for pregnant and postpartum immigrants. Guzm\u00e1n is also among the growing number of immigrants who are being detained despite having no criminal record, even as the administration insists its immigration enforcement agenda targets criminals and people who pose a safety threat to the country.<\/p>\n

The family had finished breakfast and was loading into the car with some urgency. Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s daughter was still in the NICU, unable to eat or breathe independently. The doctors had planned a meeting to review the baby\u2019s prognosis and care plans \u2014 and Guzm\u00e1n also wanted to be there for her daughter\u2019s noon feeding.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Guzm\u00e1n went to buckle her seatbelt, she looked out the window and noticed they were surrounded. By the look of the white SUVs, Guzm\u00e1n said, the family knew immediately that they were being detained by immigration agents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Guzm\u00e1n remembers the agents asking where they were born and what paperwork they could show. The family, who arrived in the country three years ago, showed the agents their work permits and explained their pending asylum application. The family also explained that they were on their way to the NICU, and an agent approached Guzm\u00e1n to ask how long it had been since the birth. With that information, they did not handcuff her as she was being detained.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Guzm\u00e1n asked if she could please call the hospital to let them know she wouldn\u2019t be coming in that day. Guzm\u00e1n remembers an agent saying she\u2019d have to talk about that with a judge, who would decide whether she would be released or go back to Mexico. The agents explained that after processing, she\u2019d likely be going to a longer-term detention facility in Kentucky.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ANayra Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s brother and mother make breakfast in their kitchen on November 24, 2025, in Cicero, Illinois. The family had been preparing to drive to the NICU when they were detained. (Jamie Kelter Davis for The 19th)<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that moment, I just felt fear,\u201d Guzm\u00e1n said. \u201cI thought, \u2018The government is going to take custody of my daughter. I\u2019m going to be in detention and I won\u2019t be able to do anything for my daughter.\u2019 If my daughter isn\u2019t recovering with me there, I thought, then much less so if I\u2019m arrested.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Up to that point, Guzm\u00e1n said the pain and difficulty of her own recovery had been overshadowed by her daughter\u2019s. When she was with her, it all faded away. As she was being detained, it came into focus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s C-section incision was throbbing on the ride to Broadview. The agent behind the wheel was driving fast over potholes, she said, despite pleas from her brother that Guzm\u00e1n was in a fragile state following her surgery, which involved cutting through seven layers of tissue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is it possible that I\u2019m going all the way to Kentucky, in this state, six hours away? My scar is burning. I\u2019m supposed to be resting,\u201d she thought.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once she arrived at Broadview, Guzm\u00e1n said, she was taken to a room and examined by two immigration agents. They asked Guzm\u00e1n to explain how her insulin pump and monitor worked and what medications she had in her backpack. One agent asked Guzm\u00e1n to take off her belly binder, a stretchy garment that supports the abdomen after surgery. She declined, explaining that without it, she\u2019d have a hard time managing the pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI overheard another agent say, \u2018Leave it. They\u2019ll take it at the detention center,\u2019\u201d Guzm\u00e1n recalled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eventually, she was transferred to a holding cell for women alongside her mom. They were given water and a sandwich at around 3 p.m., Guzm\u00e1n said, her first meal since they were detained around 10 a.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The only places for rest inside the holding cell were small benches. Guzm\u00e1n spent the night on one without a blanket or anything but what she had on her body.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really uncomfortable. I was wearing two layers of leggings, two layers of socks, my sweatshirt, and I was still freezing,\u201d Guzm\u00e1n said. \u201cOnce I was laying down, I couldn\u2019t really move because of the pain. And then I started to feel cramping in my uterus.\u201d<\/p>\n

C-section recovery typically involves six to eight weeks of rest, gentle movement, wound care and pain management. At a minimum, patients only 15 days out from a C-section require a bed, access to a breast pump, clean water and a sanitary restroom to change menstrual pads, said Dr. Beth Cronin, an OB-GYN in Rhode Island and chair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology\u2019s Committee of Advancing Equity in Obstetric and Gynecologic Health Care. They need access to a shower, and they need extra food \u2014 especially if they are breastfeeding.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are medical necessities. You would never take anybody else who just had major surgery and give them a bench,\u201d Cronin said upon learning about Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s case. The risk of infection is heightened for patients with Type 1 diabetes, she added.<\/p>\n

Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s detention was made more difficult by the fact that she was held in a temporary ICE processing facility lacking the services of longer-term detention centers.<\/p>\n

\"ANayra Guzm\u00e1n at home on November 24, 2025, in Cicero, Illinois. She was recovering from a C-section while navigating her daughter\u2019s NICU care and the aftermath of her detention. (Jamie Kelter Davis for The 19th)<\/p>\n

In a class-action suit <\/a>filed October 30, nine days after Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s release,\u00a0people who had been detained at Broadview described overcrowded and dirty cells; limited food and water; no access to showers, soap or menstrual supplies; inadequate medical care; and freezing conditions at night. Multiple people with diabetes said they were given only a sandwich at every meal, though bread can cause blood sugar spikes. Days later, a judge said he found the accounts \u201chighly credible,\u201d and described the conditions as \u201cunnecessarily cruel.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In another case, filed by a nursing woman <\/a>detained October 30 and released a day later, government officials conceded that they were not aware of any accommodations at Broadview \u2014 such as a lactation room or breast pump \u2014 that would allow detained immigrants to express breastmilk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOversight of this facility is desperately needed as legal service providers and our constituents have raised concerns about the poor conditions at Broadview,\u201d reads a letter <\/a>signed by the state\u2019s two senators and its 14 Democratic representatives, who have been denied entry to assess the conditions of the facility. \u201cThese reports allege unsanitary bathroom facilities; spreading illness; continued overcrowding; detainees sleeping on the floor or in chairs; a lack of access to food, water or hygiene products; restricted communications to family members and attorneys; and an inability to access medication.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s a detention center, whether it\u2019s any federal building under the Department of Homeland Security, we have to make sure that we are enacting and enforcing the policies to protect people,\u201d said Rep. Delia Ramirez, who represents a Chicago-area district and has been pushing for more transparency around conditions at Broadview.<\/p>\n

Under any circumstances, Cronin said, having a newborn requiring intensive care can be deeply traumatizing for someone who has just given birth. A large body of medical research suggests that early bonding between a parent and newborn can help nurture an infant\u2019s brain development \u2014\u00a0fostering social, emotional and cognitive development \u2014\u00a0and can alleviate anxiety in someone newly postpartum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AGuzm\u00e1n\u2019s newborn daughter in the NICU in the greater Chicago area in October 2025. The baby was admitted shortly after birth after struggling to breathe and remained hospitalized while Guzm\u00e1n was detained. (Courtesy of Nayra Guzm\u00e1n)<\/p>\n

Guzm\u00e1n said that prior to her arrest, she was at the hospital daily, and would often get time \u201cpiel a piel,\u201d or skin-to-skin, with her daughter. While in custody, Guzm\u00e1n had no access to any information about her daughter. A relative had contacted immigration attorneys to sue for Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s release; the same lawyers had Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s father appointed as a temporary guardian for her daughter. Her father and uncle drove to the hospital \u2014\u00a0risking detention themselves \u2014 to visit the baby while Guzm\u00e1n was in detention.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if she had an uncomplicated vaginal birth without an incision, it\u2019s still the fact that you\u2019re separating a newly postpartum person from their baby in this way and putting them at personal risk to contract infection and get sick and not be appropriately nourished and be able to empty their breasts,\u201d Cronin said. \u201cAnd all of that is terrifying.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Citing Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s health and that of her newborn daughter, her lawyers successfully petitioned a judge to order the family\u2019s release. The three of them left Broadview at around 8 p.m. on October 21, avoiding a transfer to a long-term detention facility, such as the one in Kentucky. It was too late to visit the hospital that day. The family waited for close to 30 minutes in the rain before their attorneys could pick them up, said Laura Smith, a lawyer who argued for the release of Guzm\u00e1n and her family. Their first stop was for a meal at Portillo\u2019s, a local fast food chain that specializes in Chicago-style hot dogs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even climbing a flight of stairs was difficult for Guzm\u00e1n, Smith recalled: She had to walk backward, relying on her family for support.<\/p>\n

After her release, Guzm\u00e1n fell ill with flu-like symptoms, which kept her separated from her daughter for almost a week. After going almost two days with little food or water and without access to a breast pump, Guzm\u00e1n said, her breastmilk dried up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While her daughter has made significant strides, she continues to need NICU care. Guzm\u00e1n said her daughter still relies on a feeding tube, and doctors have ordered more tests to arrive at a diagnosis. Going outside \u2014 even to see her daughter \u2014 feels dangerous in a way it didn\u2019t before.<\/p>\n

\"AAn ultrasound photo is surrounded by toys and baby clothing in the room of Nayra Guzm\u00e1n on November 24, 2025, in Cicero, Illinois. Guzm\u00e1n\u2019s two-month-old daughter remains in the NICU with a feeding tube. (Jamie Kelter Davis for The 19th)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first got home, I felt relieved. But the next day, I had to face reality. I was telling myself, \u2018You have to leave the house and see your baby.\u2019 But I had this horrible fear that they would detain me again,\u201d Guzm\u00e1n said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is no active deportation case against Guzm\u00e1n, and her visa application is still pending. She keeps having flashbacks to her arrest and detention: the sound of chains and handcuffs being thrown around by immigration agents, the screaming, the way the men arrive at the detention facility \u201call beat up and dirty.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a deep fear and this feeling that there are eyes watching you everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story was originally reported by Mel Leonor Barclay and Shefali Luthra of The 19th. Meet Mel and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":326714,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[61110,97,252,253,101047],"class_list":{"0":"post-326713","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-collaborations","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-health-care","11":"tag-healthcare","12":"tag-operation-midway-blitz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}