Pregnant woman held at Eloy for four months, learned at seven months of preeclampsia and her baby's heart condition
Apr 2026·Location: Eloy, AZ
Yesenia Mejia-Valesquez (a pseudonym used in the report) was detained at the Eloy Detention Center while pregnant and was scheduled for her first OBGYN appointment in January 2026, over a month after she was detained, but missed it and the ultrasound because ICE transported her late. She was not taken to an off-site OBGYN until March, three months into detention, and still did not get an ultrasound because of a scheduling mix-up. Her release request for lack of appropriate medical care was denied in March, and she asked for a deportation flight out of fear of being forced to give birth in ICE custody. When she finally had an ultrasound at the end of March she learned she was about seven months pregnant; in April she was told she had preeclampsia and that the baby has a heart condition that will require surgery after birth. She was released to her family at the end of April, at approximately eight months pregnant.
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