Federal Agents Detained A U.S. Citizen Who Is 9 Months Pregnant

Cary Lopez Alvarado, a U.S. citizen who is nine months pregnant, was detained by federal agents this past weekend in another instance of ramped-up immigration enforcement, NBC Los Angeles reports.

Lopez Alvarado told the outlet she was arrested in Hawthorne, California, despite telling the agents, who arrived in Border Patrol vehicles, that she was a citizen. She says she’s since had to go to the hospital, where doctors are now monitoring her and her baby. Lopez Alvarado’s case is one of many that underscores the aggressive nature of federal enforcement in recent months as agents have raided workplaces, grabbed students off streets and ambushed immigrants at court hearings. Her experience draws attention to the treatment of pregnant women in particular, with some previously reporting a lack of adequate care while in detention during Trump’s first term.

Lopez Alvarado was arrested by federal agents after they followed her husband and his co-worker — both of whom are undocumented — to their workplace, she says. Lopez Alvarado says she was blocking the doors to enter the area as the agents tried to open them, telling them they were on “private property.” In return, she says, the agents accused her of obstructing the arrests they were trying to make.

“I had lost my balance because he was kind of shoving me away from the door,” she told NBC News Los Angeles of the encounter, which was recorded. “That’s when I kind of leaned forward, trying to protect the stomach.”

In a statement to HuffPost, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin claimed that Lopez Alvarado’s arrest was because “she obstructed federal law enforcement by blocking access to a car” containing two undocumented immigrants. McLaughlin also alleged that agents were “assaulted” during the incident.

“Anyone who actively obstructs or assaults law enforcement, including U.S. citizens, will of course face consequences which include arrest,” McLaughlin said.

Lopez Alvarado was let go after her arrest, but said she experienced pains in her stomach and went to the hospital.

“I wasn’t resisting or anything,” she told NBC News Los Angeles. “I can’t fight back; I’m pregnant.”

Lopez Alvarado’s experience adds to a growing set of cases involving federal agents detaining citizens, and also renews scrutiny of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s treatment of pregnant women. During Trump’s first term, BuzzFeed News reported on pregnant women in detention being shackled around the stomach and denied important medical care.