Biden administration bars ICE from detaining pregnant or nursing women

In a bid to make the US immigration system more "humane," the Biden administration announced on Friday, July 9, that it barred Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from detaining pregnant or nursing women, absent "exceptional circumstances."

Tae Johnson, the interim head of ICE, was quoted by CBS News saying, "Given the unique needs of this population, we will not detain individuals known to be pregnant, postpartum or nursing unless release is prohibited by law or exceptional circumstances exist. This reflects our commitment to treat all individuals with respect and dignity while still enforcing our nation's laws".

Johnson had earlier issued a directive to his deportation agents establishing the new restrictions. These are a part of the broader Biden administration effort to reverse sweeping Trump-era deportation policies.

Johnson has also instructed ICE to focus on arresting immigrants with certain criminal convictions, recent border-crossers and foreigners who pose a national security threat.

Arrests of immigrants who fall outside these categories will now require supervisory approval.

This month's directive also requires detention officers to release pregnant or nursing women, unless any of the limited exceptions apply.

As per Johnson, if ICE decides to detain pregnant or nursing immigrants, they must should then be given adequate mental health and medical services.