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Asylum seeker says Border Patrol assaulted her, then she miscarried

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A woman seeking asylum from El Salvador said she miscarried her two-month pregnancy after being physically and mentally abused by immigration officials.

Rubia Mabel Morales Alfaro, 28, said she was shoved to the ground and kicked in the back by a Border Patrol agent who arrested her for crossing the border illegally near Friendship Park. She said she told the agent of her pregnancy before the alleged assault.

“I kept telling her that I was pregnant, and she kept replying, ‘That is your problem, not mine,’” Morales Alfaro said in a statement provided by her legal representative, Luis Guerra.

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Morales Alfaro came to the border on the evening of Dec. 22, the statement says, with her husband, who was also caught by Border Patrol.

Her statement says agents yelled at her and mocked her while she was in their custody.

“The San Diego Border Patrol Sector has no knowledge of this alleged incident,” said Michael Scappechio, spokesman for Border Patrol. “The Department of Homeland Security has a mechanism in place where any reported allegation of abuse or misconduct is documented and referred to DHS’ Office of Inspector General and/or U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility.

“CBP promotes honor, integrity and professionalism in every aspect of our mission in order to keep our country safe. We do not tolerate abuse within our ranks, and we fully cooperate with any investigation of alleged misconduct by our personnel, on or off duty.”

Morales Alfaro started to feel abdominal pain, dizziness and nausea while in Border Patrol custody, her statement says. She couldn’t eat the cold bean burritos that agents gave to detainees.

On Christmas Eve, she was sent to Otay Mesa Detention Center. She went to the doctor there several times for abdominal pain.

On Jan. 10, she began to bleed, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers took her to a hospital, according to her statement.

After running several tests, the emergency room doctor told her that she’d had a miscarriage.

“The doctor said that there were many reasons why the miscarriage happened but that it was ‘likely due to the conditions that I was in,’” her statement says.

Morales Alfaro blames the way U.S. officials treated her after she crossed the border for her miscarriage. She’s worried that she won’t get appropriate follow-up care for the miscarriage while she’s still in detention.

“I believe that the physiological, physical, verbal abuse and medical neglect that I suffered on behalf of all the immigration authorities that I encountered resulted in the loss of my baby,” Morales Alfaro’s statement says.

Guerra, her legal representative, has called for her release while her case is pending and for officials to be held accountable.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, 10 to 20 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage.

Lauren Mack, spokeswoman for ICE, said that all women in immigration detention are screened for pregnancy when they arrive.

“Immigration and Customs Enforcement is committed to ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of all those in our care,” Mack said. “Females in ICE custody receive routine, age-appropriate gynecological and obstetrical health care assessments and preventive women’s health services as medically appropriate. In addition to pregnancy screenings at intake, ICE detention facilities provide onsite prenatal care and education, as well as remote access to specialists for pregnant women who remain in custody.”

Morales Alfaro’s husband is being held at a detention facility in Arizona, Guerra said.

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