Raw Chicken, Malnutrition and Fear: The ‘Nightmare’ of Being Pregnant in an ICE Detention Camp

Maria’s experience with poor food quality mirrors reports from advocacy groups and the Senate investigation.

The Women’s Refugee Commission, a research and advocacy organization, leads perhaps the most robust data collection on conditions for pregnant and postpartum people in ICE custody through their Detention Pregnancy Tracker.
Zain Lakhani, director of migrant rights and justice at the Women’s Refugee Commission, said the tracker has revealed that access to sufficient nutrition has been a major problem for pregnant people.

“No one expects the food in detention to be great,” Lakhani said. “We’re not just talking about food that is bad. We’re talking about food that is moldy, we’re talking about food that is frozen or inedible or insect infested, right? This is not just bad food. This is food that you cannot eat.”

Lakhani said some women have told her that the protein they received was raw chicken, or they’ll get a bean and cheese burrito covered in mold.