Shackled and Detained: A Pregnant Woman's Story (For NAM)

Juana Villegas is a Mexican immigrant living in Tennessee. She was nine months pregnant when she was stopped for careless driving" (for which she was later found innocent); instead of receiving a customary citation, because of an agreement called 287(g) between local police and federal immigration authorities, she was detained in jail where she was shackled. She remained shackled in transit to the hospital and while she gave birth, and was then not allowed to use a breast pump or nurse her newborn child. She didn't know where her husband and family were and was not allowed to see them through this whole ordeal.
All this for a simple traffic violation. Critics of 287(g) believe that instead of catching dangerous criminals, the agreement leads to racial profiling and cases such as Juana's.
And when we deny due process and human rights to some people, we put all of our freedoms at risk.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Breakthrough
• Homeland
• Gitmo
• Guantanamo
• Detention
• conditions
• Immigrant
• Immigration
• detention
• human
• rights
• Mallika
• Dutt
• Heidi
• enforcement
• jail
• 287(g)
• Nashville
• Tennessee
• pregnancy
• pregnant
• shackles
• handcuff
• nurse
• ICE

[angelikagabriella]

This is DISGUSTING! How can people be treated this way, and the people who do that, get away with it!! HORRIBLE! This woman, did not have to go through this and it will scar her forever.

[3170Danielle]

duh they have spanish translators. um and i know a lot of mexicans that pay their bills whether or not they have money so shut up

[bpante]

She is ILLEGAL that means CRIMINAL

[haircurlers7]

LET ME JUST SAYING SOMETHING TO ALL THE A**HOLES WHO SAID SHES A CRIMINAL SO TREAT HER THAT WAY! A CRIMINAL WHOS A CITIZEN GETS TREATED BETTER THAN THIS, SO IF YOUR SAYING ALL CRIMINALS SHOULD GET TREATED THIS WAY THEN TELL IT TO ALL THE LUCKY CRIMINAL WHO ARE CITIZENS WHO MOST LIKELY DONT GET TREATED LIKE THAT! REMEMBER THIS WAS NOT AMERICANS LAND THIS IS STILL THE NATIVES LAND AND YET THEY AINT TELLING ALL YOUR DUMBASS TO GET THE F*** OUTA HERE. BEFORE TALKING SHIT REMEMBER WHO WAS HERE FIRST

[haircurlers7]

@swah25 hey asshole ur the dumb bitch!

[haircurlers7]

@bpante and leave all her 3 kids ???? yeah smart one!

[bpante]

She should have been deported.

[knutgordon]

@watchclassics

Respect is earned.The officer sure is a mean hearted, cold evil bastard for doing his job. She was treated no worse than many other criminals are in the US. They handcuff people, pregnant or not, to their beds in hospitals all the time. Let her keep the 200k $, but subtract the hospital bill from it. Especially since she is a repeated illegal immigrant and law breaker. Then deport the baby factory back to Mexico and see how long she can keep both the money and her head.

[watchclassics]

I dont care if she is here ILLEGALLY, our country should treat ANY pregnant woman with more respect. This was inhumane treatment. There are serious criminals out on the loose, and this is who we waste time on! If you dont like it, CHANGE the laws, contact your local representative, but dont spit on a pregnant woman who lives in America because she wants a better life.

[steffon70]

What part of ILLEGAL (meaning not legal or not lawful) in illegal immigrant do you people not understand? She should not be ENTITLED to anything in the U.S., as she is not an american citizen. She had no RIGHTS as those are reserved for American citizens that are LEGALLY here in the country. Moreover she is a repeat criminal offender, First by entering the country ILLEGALLY the first time then being deported and returning once again ILLEGALLY, then driving without a license ILLEGALLY

[SissySundancer]

@masterchiefer123 it's called read at the bottom

[masterchiefer123]

LEARN ENGLISH IF YOU COME HERE jesus wtf, im not racist, but if you choose to come here illegally at least attempt to learn the language