DHS Disputes Story of Denial of Prenatal Care to Pregnant Illegal in ICE Custody

DHS Disputes Story of Denial of Prenatal Care to Pregnant Illegal in ICE Custody

It seems like nearly every week, the left and the MSM latch on to stories about alleged incidents involving ICE agents and illegal immigrants that they think prove their points about the supposed wrongness of immigration sweeps.

More often than not, however, the story we’ve been given is an incomplete one, presented without context, as was the case in the news piece on a U.S. citizen who was arrested and briefly detained during an Alabama immigration sweep last month, only to find out that, according to DHS, the man was trying to obstruct a co-worker’s arrest.

As Legal Insurrection has reported, they have also falsely claimed young children who were U.S. citizens were deported out of the country, even though the real story was that their mothers were deported and chose to take them with them.

The latest example of a story that doesn’t quite pass the smell test comes from a site called the Nashville Banner, which published a story in late May where every claim came from a pregnant Guatemalan-born illegal immigrant detainee and her alleged boyfriend, who is an American citizen.

In a nutshell, the claim is that Iris Dayana Monterroso-Lemus, a mother of 6, lost her unborn child while in ICE custody because she was allegedly denied prenatal care, and basic needs were unmet.

Not a single allegation made in the story has been corroborated, but the purported non-profit news outlet ran with it anyway, and so have the Usual Suspects like Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA):

A pregnant woman lost her baby after ICE refused to give her prenatal care.

She begged for help and was denied. She was fed food full of cockroaches. She was forced to sleep on the floor.

This is absolutely disgusting and we should all be outraged. https://t.co/AtYPFMfZ6z

— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) June 24, 2025

Is this what you wanted, @StephenM?

A mother who was 5 months pregnant – who'd just found out she and her American citizen fiancee were having a boy – lost her baby after federal agents in a detention center repeatedly denied her pleas for prenatal care.

Lived and worked in… https://t.co/xlqILCt0Gy

— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) June 24, 2025

As one might expect, however, DHS is once again pushing back, providing more info on Monterroso-Lemus and her situation:

Absolutely FALSE. She had FULL medical, prenatal care. We have documentation to show it.

Iris Dayana Monterroso-Lemus, 37, is a citizen of Guatemala who has been arrested multiple times for child abuse and is wanted on an active warrant for homicide.

On Thursday, DHS provided more documentation to counter the claims that the pregnant detainee had not received prenatal care:

FALSE: She received prenatal care, including an ultrasound and OB-GYN visit, dental care, and medication. She was also admitted to a hospital and saw multiple nurses. 

CLAIM: “Asked for ultrasound and only tested for blood pressure and urine.”

FALSE: She received prenatal care including a fetal doppler ultrasound. 

CLAIM: “Thought she was having a stroke, but they didn’t give her medical exam.”

FALSE:  As soon as she identified the distress on April 29, ICE provided immediate medical assistance.

CLAIM: “Begged to go to hospital, but was told no.”

DHS also noted that “Monterroso-Lemus entered the country illegally in 2018 and was deported back to Guatemala on May 9, 2025” where, presumably, she’ll remain.

-Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter/X.-

Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.