'It's Scary To Go Out Now': How An Undocumented Mom Has Locked Herself in Her Home Over Deportation Fears

Several reports published over the last few months have detailed an increased fear among migrants to go to doctor's appointments and other commitments over concerns about being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Now, those concerns have spilled over into a pregnant woman who report being scared to go into hospitals to give birth over fears of inadvertently letting the immigration agency know of their whereabouts.

Josefina, a 31-year-old Guatemalan migrant who requested to not be identified with her last name, detailed how she was checked into a hospital on May 1 to give birth to her son despite being terrified for her safety. Two weeks later, her husband was detained by ICE.

"We went in with fear and we came out with fear," Josefina, an undocumented migrant, told Noticias Telemundo, who originally reported on her case. "And in the end, the fear never went away, because then they took the baby's father."

Josefina's husband, who was unnamed in Telemundo's report, was arrested by ICE on May 15, when he went to buy goods at a local grocery store just a block and a half away from his home. He was walking with two other people when three police cars surrounded him and asked for his papers.

Josefina spent the night in anguish, not knowing what had happened to him. The next day, around 1 p.m., her husband called to say he had been arrested. She doesn't remember the name of the facility where he was being held, only that he told her he had to pay $350 to be released.

Josefina borrowed the money for his bail from a loved one. They were told he would be released 24 hours later. But their reunion never came. Instead, her husband spent around a month being transported to four different detention centers, two in Florida, one in Arizona and one in Louisiana. He was eventually deported back to Guatemala on June 15.

His deportation left Josefina alone in the U.S. with two of their three kids, a six-year-old and the newborn. Their older child, a 9-year-old, was still in Guatemala, waiting for his parents to save enough money to bring him into the U.S. But that day seems awfully distant now, Josefina says.

Since her husband was taken by ICE, Josefina says she has locked herself inside her home, taking care of her kids as she can: she breastfeeds the baby and cooks something simple for the eldest. It's almost always some pasta or a little rice, she told Noticias Telemundo. And despite her recent C-section wound, she does her laundry at home.

She used to work picking tomatoes, but had to stop due to her pregnancy. Now, a group of women who live close by, along with her younger sister (who is also undocumented) bring her food, toys for her daughter and keep her company. They also help her leave her house only when it is necessary, like her recent daughter's school graduation, or to give the baby the needed vaccines.

"It's scary to go out now. Imagine, I can't even run. From the moment I open the door, I check carefully because some people tell me that immigration doesn't use cars with parking permits anymore, but rather private cars," she said.

Josefina's worries, as well as her initial fears of going to the hospital, are not unique. In fact, numerous reports since President Donald Trump took office detail how migrants across the country are choosing to skip their doctor's appointments over concerns of ticking off ICE, a decision that can have detrimental effects on an individual's health.

"Mild symptoms that go undiagnosed can turn a manageable situation into permanent damage," explains a recent report from the Migration Policy Institute about migrants' skipping their doctor's appointment and avoiding health facilities. "Some individuals need life-saving treatments such as dialysis. Higher-risk groups such as people with chronic diseases, pregnant women, and newborns need consistent health care."