A woman who is nine months pregnant was detained by federal immigration authorities, despite being a U.S. citizen.
Cary López Alvarado was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on June 8, one week before her due date, in Hawthorne, Los Angeles County, California.
“They started grabbing me from both sides, and I ducked down to sort of shield my stomach because I was afraid they were going to hurt me,” López Alvarado told Telemundo 52.
“I told them it [her due date] was June 17, and they said, ‘OK, your baby is going to be born here, but you’re from Mexico, right?’ And I told them no.”
She said agents detained her on allegations of obstructing the arrest of her undocumented husband. Newsweek contacted ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment outside of office hours on Wednesday.
Border Patrol agents marked in U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) vehicles had been following a white pickup carrying two undocumented immigrants, including López Alvarado’s partner, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Speaking from a hospital bed on Monday, she told the outlet: “I had lost my balance because he was kind of shoving me away from the door. That’s when I kind of leaned forward, trying to protect the stomach.”
“I wasn’t resisting or anything,” she added. “I can’t fight back; I’m pregnant.”
López Alvarado said she began experiencing sharp abdominal pain after her release on Sunday, and was subsequently hospitalized. Doctors are closely monitoring both her and her baby, NBC Los Angeles reported.
The detention comes amid a crackdown on immigration by the Trump administration, which has made enforcement operations a top priority. Trump has vowed to carry out what he calls the largest mass deportation effort in United States history, enforcing stricter border controls, shutting down asylum and ramping up ICE arrests across the country. The administration is facing increasing pushback from pockets of resistance over the GOP’s flagship mass removal policy.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
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