Reproductive Freedom for All Calls for Release of Maria Alejandra Valero Brinez After Visiting Eloy Detention Center with Reps. Grijalva, Ansari, and Dexter - Reproductive Freedom for All®

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Reproductive Freedom for All Calls for Release of Maria Alejandra Valero Brinez After Visiting Eloy Detention Center with Reps. Grijalva, Ansari, and Dexter

Reproductive Freedom for All Calls for Release of Maria Alejandra Valero Brinez After Visiting Eloy Detention Center with Reps. Grijalva, Ansari, and Dexter

The 19th*: Woman with history of stillbirth fears losing another pregnancy in ICE detention

This week, Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju joined a congressional delegation for an oversight visit of Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. Led by Representative Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07) and joined by Representatives Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03) and Maxine Dexter (OR-03), the members of Congress heard directly from women about their reproductive health experiences in immigration detention. The visit focused on the urgent need to protect reproductive health, ensure access to adequate medical care, and uphold the dignity of women in immigration detention.

As reported by The 19th*, Timmaraju, Grijalva, Ansari, and Dexter are now calling for the immediate release of  24-year-old Maria Alejandra Valero Brinez, who is five months into a high-risk pregnancy in the detention facility. She has not received prenatal care since August, when she was first taken to a detention center. Maria also raised concerns about access to drinking water and food inside the facility.

Today, Reproductive Freedom for All and Reps. Grijalva, Ansari, and Dexter launched a petition calling for Valero Brinez’s immediate release in response to Wednesday’s visit.

While in the facility, Reps. Grijalva, Ansari, and Dexter also spoke to another woman detainee, Lilianne, who reported an inconsistent and limited supply of menstrual products, as access is completely dependent on the will and discretion of guards within the facility. Valero Brinez and Lilliane are among many women across the country who have reported being denied access to basic healthcare while detained, and facing dehumanizing cruelty at the hands of ICE agents and guards.

Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju released the following statement:

“ICE is putting women’s health, pregnancies, and lives at risk—leaving them to plead for even the most basic care and access to menstrual products. I’m grateful to Reps. Grijalva, Ansari, and Dexter for shining a light on this crisis, and Reproductive Freedom for All is with them every step of the way in demanding an end to this cruelty.”

Read more from The 19th* below: 

  • Lawmakers are calling for the immediate release of 24-year-old Maria Alejandra Valero Brinez, who said she is five months pregnant and having potentially dangerous complications while detained in Arizona’s Eloy Detention Center.
  • The oversight visit, coordinated with the advocacy group Reproductive Freedom for All, is one of several conducted by congressional Democrats during the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration enforcement campaign. Lawmakers spoke exclusively to The 19th about the trip to Eloy.
  • Eloy has drawn particular scrutiny. Multiple women who were detained at the facility while pregnant said they received insufficient healthcare, including one who said she miscarried.
  • Officials fill yellow Igloo water coolers full of ice, and that serves as the main source of water, according to Valero Brinez. She and others have to wait for the ice to melt to have water to drink. She told lawmakers the water often looks dirty and has bugs or hair in it, and because there isn’t enough of it for everyone, she ends up buying clean water using wages she makes working in the laundry room.
  • Pregnant women at facilities across the country have said that they received inconsistent healthcare and poor-quality food while detained. Some have said they struggled to get medical attention when experiencing symptoms of miscarriage. Women who have received medical care said they were unable to view records of their treatment, including test results.
  • Recent polling by The 19th and YouGov found that most Americans believe pregnant, postpartum and nursing people generally should not be held in detention facilities. They also believe that those who are detained should receive basic pregnancy-related healthcare.

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For over 55 years, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America) has fought to protect and advance reproductive freedom at the federal and state levels—including access to abortion care, birth control, pregnancy and post-partum care, and paid family leave—for everybody. Reproductive Freedom for All is powered by its more than 4.5 million members from every state and congressional district in the country, representing the 8 in 10 Americans who support legal abortion.