Latest news with #LópezAlvarado
Miami Herald
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
The right's pro-life hypocrisy: Pregnant women face harm in ICE custody
Cary López Alvarado should have been resting. One week from her due date, she should have been counting down the days with equal parts exhaustion and joy. Instead, on June 8, she was shoved to the ground and shackled in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Hawthorne. A U.S. citizen, nine months pregnant, she was held for nearly eight hours before being hospitalized with stomach pain. ICE agents alleged she was obstructing their access to two undocumented immigrants in a public parking lot, one of them her boyfriend. There's a quiet violence in how ordinary this has become. A technical violation — no threat to public safety, no criminal record otherwise — somehow became enough to justify brute force. López Alvarado's story joins others: pregnant women pulled from cars, cuffed on asphalt and pushed onto the ground. These moments don't just reflect a lack of trauma-informed training among agents who could have made a conscious choice to de-escalate the situation, they suggest something more deliberate: the rescission of ICE's own 2021 11032.4 directive, meant to shield pregnant people from exactly this kind of harm. What frustrates me most, however, is a deeper hypocrisy in the moral fabric of the political right, especially those who claim to be 'pro-life.' I am disappointed in their severely myopic definition of the phrase, their selective drawing from conservative theology to protect only the fetuses deemed to be future children of white American citizens, while permitting violence to mothers and children who do not visually check said boxes. To be pro-life means to stand for the right to life; it is a conviction in the inherent dignity and consistent worth of all human beings. It means advocating for lives of safety: in immigration, in our daily lives and, most directly for me, as a medical student and future physician, in health care. An unborn child's worth should not disappear the moment their mother enters a detention center or is perceived by ICE as potentially undocumented. During President Donald Trump's first term, the detention of pregnant women rose by 52% after an Obama-era policy that generally directed immigration officials to release pregnant women from federal custody was rolled back. Advocacy groups have long documented the inadequate medical care and dangerous conditions faced by detained women, leading to irreversible psychological trauma, physical harm and even miscarriages. Perinatal mood disorders, such as maternal depression, have been linked to hypertension, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. For pregnant undocumented women, who already have baseline trauma from arduous immigration journeys where rape and disease are common, incarceration and the constant fear of deportation can serve as powerful stressors, contributing to a heightened risk of cardiovascular complications and, possibly, premature births. Along the border, immigration holding cells, colloquially referred to by migrants as hieleras or 'freezers,' often lack basic sleeping accommodations, showers and hygienic products like soap. Migrants spend up to several nights in congested quarters where infections spread quickly. For these women, it seems that their lives — and the lives of their children — are conditional. I chose to become a physician because there is relief in knowing the field of medicine endures on treating every human, regardless of their their past, politics or papers. Illness and death are universal, and in their universality, there is fairness. This vulnerability connects us far more than our ideologies divide us: I may never know whether my patient voted to build a wall or supported LBGTQ+ rights, and I also do not wish to know. What I owe, to myself and others, is to defend life with integrity. When advocacy on behalf of a patient falls short, the opposing party must be held accountable — whether it's myself, a colleague or a politician. López Alvarado ended up giving birth to a healthy baby girl, and the family has set up a GoFundMe to help cover medical costs and child care. Her boyfriend remains in detention out of state, unable to help with raising the child. Clarity doesn't come from choosing sides — it comes from choosing people. In every room, the fundamental respect of personhood — not politics — must lead. We are bound to complex social systems where race, socioeconomics and sex will always be relevant. Life does not begin and end in a womb. It is lived along borders where families are being torn apart; in mothers who have miscarried in detainment centers whose prayers say: 'When I die, bury me in comfy clothes and make sure my shoes are tied tight, because I have a long overdue play date with a little child.' When you hear someone is undocumented, let your first response be humanity, not fear or violence. There is enough space for all of us to win, even in a nation as broken as ours.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
California Immigration Raids Are Hurting American Citizens Too
The Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement policies are taking a toll on more than just the undocumented aliens they are targeting. On Sunday, Cary López Alvarado, an American citizen born in Los Angeles who is nine months pregnant, was hospitalized after being released from federal custody one week before her due date. López Alvarado said she started experiencing sharp pains in her abdomen after she lost her balance when agents "shoved her" while attempting to arrest her undocumented coworkers. "I crouched down and held my belly, because I was scared they would hurt me," she told Telemundo 52, NBC's sister station in Los Angeles. López Alvarado was detained after attempting to block two masked Border Patrol agents from entering her place of work without a warrant. While performing maintenance work in a building in Hawthorne, California, on Sunday, she and her cousin—also an American citizen—opened the parking gate to allow López Alvarado's partner, Brian Najera, and another co-worker to enter. Najera and the co-worker—who are both undocumented—had been followed in a marked U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle. López Alvarado blocked the agents from entering the gated parking lot and captured her interactions with them on video while telling the agents: "I'm going to need you guys to leave. This is private property." Agents said the parking wasn't private property and asked López Alvarado to either show documentation that she owned the property or move out of the way. When she refused to move, the agents forced her out of the way, causing her to lose her balance. She, along with her husband, co-worker, and cousin, were subsequently arrested, during which time López Alvarado told agents her due date was June 17. "'OK, your baby is going to be born here, but you're from Mexico, right?' And I told them no," she said on NBC News. "I was born here." López Alvarado was released later that day and told by agents they would contact her at a later date about obstruction allegations. In an email sent to NBC News, Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said, "Cary Lopez was arrested because she obstructed federal law enforcement by blocking access to a car that had two Guatemalan illegal aliens in it." She also noted that "ICE enforcement officers are facing a 413% increase in assaults," which McLaughlin says is "disgraceful." This incident illustrates how quickly interactions with federal agents can become complicated. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures where there is a "reasonable expectation of privacy." Whether a parking lot is considered private, and therefore requires either a valid warrant or permission for authorities to enter, depends on multiple factors. Although López Alvarado believed she was within her rights to deny federal immigration authorities entrance to a gated parking lot on private property without a judicial warrant, agents believed differently. Trump's onslaught of immigration enforcement has raised many questions regarding due process for undocumented people living in the United States. Now, the same questions are being raised for American citizens. The post California Immigration Raids Are Hurting American Citizens Too appeared first on
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Masked ICE Agents Detain U.S. Citizen Who Is Nine Months Pregnant
In an instance of exceptional depravity, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested a pregnant U.S. citizen just days before her due date, NBC News reported Tuesday. Cary López Alvarado was detained by masked ICE agents Sunday, who claimed that she was obstructing an arrest of her partner and his co-worker, two undocumented immigrants from Guatemala, during a raid in Hawthorne, a city in Los Angeles County. López Alvarado and her cousin Alberto Sandoval, who is also a citizen, were opening a gate to allow their truck into the parking lot of a private building when ICE agents arrived. 'They had us all surrounded,' she told NBC News in an interview from a hospital bed, her voice breaking. After being released by ICE shortly after her arrest, López Alvarado experienced sharp pains in her stomach, and was admitted to the hospital. 'I had lost my balance,' she tearfully told NBC. 'He was kind of shoving me away from the door, and uh, that's when I kind of just like leaned forward because I was kind of trying to protect the stomach.' In a video of the incident obtained by the outlet, neighbors could be heard shouting 'Let her go,' and She's pregnant!' In one video, López Alvarado can be heard explaining to the agents that they could not enter private property. The agents told her that the parking wasn't private property, and that she was impeding their arrest, she said. 'I wasn't resisting or anything,' she said. 'I can't fight back; I'm pregnant.' When López Alvarado tried to tell the officers that she was due June 17, she said they responded, ''OK, your baby is going to be born here, but you're from Mexico, right?' And I told them no.' López Alvarado told Telemundo 52 in Spanish that she was born in Los Angeles. As part of its inhumane crackdown on immigration, the Trump administration has readily arrested U.S. citizens, deported families, and endangered sick children, leaving hollow promises to target individuals with criminal records in the rearview. In a statement to NBC News, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that López Alvarado had been detained because she allegedly 'obstructed federal law enforcement by blocking access to a car that had two Guatemalan illegal aliens in it.' The statement claimed that the ICE agents had been assaulted during the incident and that 'rioters' had thrown wrenches and batteries at the agents. Sandoval still faces assault charges, though his mother, María Alvarado, told Telemundo 52 that he was innocent, and there was proof. 'My son didn't attack. He was attacked. There are videos. There's evidence,' she said in Spanish. A recent series of ICE arrests in Los Angeles have sparked massive protests there, and the Trump administration has been quick to fan the flames of unrest by calling in the National Guard and U.S. Marines, in possible violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. California has already moved to sue Trump for overreaching his authority, and California Governor Gavin Newsom warned Wednesday that the president had placed democracy 'under assault.'
Newsweek
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
ICE Detains Heavily Pregnant US Citizen—'Shield My Stomach'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. 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.
