Man Fearing for Fiancée After Miscarriage Infection Calls 911, but She Is Detained by ICE Instead

A Massachusetts woman recovering from a miscarriage and infection was detained by ICE on 4 September after her fiancé called 911 over concerns for her wellbeing, according to court proceedings and reporting by The Boston Globe.

Iara do Carmo Santana, 29, had undergone surgery after miscarrying in late August. She later developed an infection and experienced depression, frequent crying and difficulty getting out of bed, according to her family. Her fiancé, Gabriel Lemos, called emergency services during an argument because he believed she was suffering a mental health crisis.

When police arrived at the couple's home in Malden, near Boston, Santana was arrested. She was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a household member, court records show.

ICE Detention Followed 911 Call

The news came after Lemos told a Malden district court that he had called 911 with 'concerns for her well-being'. An attorney representing Santana said she was distressed after the miscarriage and was 'in a state of depression'.

Prosecutors alleged that Santana pushed Lemos and struck him with a hair straightener. The police report was not publicly available, and Malden Police Chief Marc Gatcomb said the department could not release information relating to domestic incidents or mental health calls under Massachusetts and federal law.

Santana was held at a police station and later released. However, ICE agents were waiting when she left, according to The Boston Globe. Her fingerprints, taken during booking, were accessible through a shared FBI database used by immigration authorities to identify people they consider eligible for detention.

The sequence has become the central issue in the case. A call intended to secure medical or mental health help ended with a federal immigration arrest.

Santana was taken to an ICE field office in Burlington, where she spent roughly four days. She said she told agents about her recent surgery, abdominal pain and infection, but did not receive a medical assessment when she arrived.

'I wasn't OK,' Santana said. 'I told them that I had just had surgery, that I was feeling pain in the bottom of my belly.'

She also said there was no Portuguese translator available and that officials often forgot to give her the antibiotics and pain medication brought by Lemos. Her account has not been independently verified by IBTimes UK.

ICE Faces Questions Over Medical Care

For context, the Burlington facility is an administrative office that has increasingly been used to hold immigration detainees overnight. Massachusetts has no immigration detention centre for women, meaning detainees may remain there while ICE looks for space elsewhere.

Lawyers and former detainees have previously described the conditions as harsh. Reports cited by WBUR said people had slept on concrete floors with thin foil blankets and lacked reliable access to showers, sinks, food and medical care.

ICE rejected those allegations. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the agency, said, 'Any claims of inadequate conditions at the ICE Burlington facility are categorically FALSE.'

The spokesperson added, 'No lawbreakers in the history of human civilization have been treated better than illegal aliens in the United States.'

That statement did little to settle the more specific question raised in Santana's case. Her lawyers, Todd Pomerleau and Jason Thomas, filed a habeas petition alleging that ICE violated her due process rights by detaining her despite her recent surgery and worsening symptoms.

District Judge Leo T. Sorokin ordered Santana's release on 8 September. During the hearing, he sharply questioned the care available to detainees.

'If you take someone into custody, as they do, that's fine. But you owe them medical care. I view that as a serious issue,' Sorokin said.

The judge also said ICE had acknowledged that the Burlington facility was not appropriate for holding people for extended periods. He described the situation as troubling 'as a systemic matter'.

Santana's detention also raised questions about an internal ICE policy advising officials to avoid detaining people known to be pregnant, postpartum or nursing, except in exceptional circumstances. Her lawyers argued that her recent miscarriage and surgery should have prompted a different decision.

A DHS spokesperson said Santana entered the United States from Brazil in 2021 after unlawfully crossing the southern border. She later applied for asylum, received employment authorisation and worked as a house cleaner.

She is engaged to Lemos, a lawful permanent resident, and plans to apply for a green card after their expected marriage next year. Her immigration court date is scheduled for 2029.

Santana has since been reunited with Lemos and her six-year-old son. But her criminal case remains pending, and she still faces possible deportation.

'I was afraid that I was going to go crazy in there,' Santana said of the Burlington facility. 'I was really scared.'