Department of Homeland Security officials falsely tried to paint a grieving mother who suffered a stillbirth in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody as a "wanted killer," according to The Daily Beast.
"The DHS smeared Iris Dayana Monterroso-Lemus after she went public with the harrowing story of how she was forced to spend three days in custody carrying the fetus of her dead son when she miscarried at 20 weeks," according to the report.
After she shared her experience in May, "she was deported to Guatemala as part of a wave of ICE arrests and deportations ordered by President Trump and overseen by [DHS Secretary Kristi] Noem."
According to Monterroso-Lemus, she had to sleep on a "cockroach infested" floor at a Louisiana detention facility, with inadequate food and no prenatal care, and "was forced to deliver her stillborn child while a prison guard watched over her."
The DHS has disputed this story, with Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin claiming it was "absolutely FALSE," that they “had documentation to show” she received proper health care, and that she had an active homicide warrant in her native Guatemala.
However, an investigation by The Beast disputes that last point in particular: "Court documents show that a judge threw out the 14-year-old warrant and freed Monterroso-Lemus on May 13, four days after she arrived in Guatemala. A letter from Judge Edgar Anibal Arteaga Lopez to the Juzgado de Paz, which handles criminal and civil cases, dated May 13, shows that an order had been issued revoking the arrest warrant, granting immediate release, and directing that her name be removed from any outstanding warrant databases."
It has not been reported why the warrant was revoked, what her alleged role in the homicide was, or whether she is still believed culpable in any capacity — however, with the warrant no longer active, McLaughlin's claim she is actively wanted is false, the Beast reported.
"McLaughlin said the warrant had been active when she was deported, without addressing why no attempt had been made to check it was still true with Guatemalan authorities ahead of the public statement," noted the report. "She said, 'Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence gathering ended the second this criminal was off American streets.'"
The Trump administration has been constantly under fire for its treatment of immigration detainees, with the deportation and controversial criminal charges against Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia becoming the focus of national headlines.