Darisbell Quintero Morillo, a Venezuelan woman in ICE custody, found out she was pregnant after a medical checkup. She was detained during the routine check-in at the Dallas ICE field office and sent to the Prairieland Detention Center in late March.
When she was detained, she did not know she was pregnant. A preliminary pregnancy test was negative; however, later on, the test turned out to be positive. The couple had been trying to have a baby for two years now. This was supposed to be happy news for the family; however, her pregnancy turned out to be complicated as she had severe bleeding.
ICYMI: Darisbell Quintero learned she was pregnant with her first child while in ICE detention. The agency didn't release her, despite policy saying ICE should release pregnant women.
Last week, she was informed she experienced a miscarriage https://t.co/OLseRtGjJu
— Aarón Torres (@AaronTorres_) May 11, 2026
During her stay at the detention center, she was worried about her medical care and nutrition. She told KERA News the same on the phone. On May 5, she was taken to a hospital for treatment.
According to her attorney Oscar Mendoza, “We don’t know if she was ever pregnant or if she’s having a miscarriage. After the pregnancy test in March, she hasn’t received medical care. I think it shows the lack of care that they have.”
Furthermore, he added, “All we know is that she’s bleeding a lot and had two positive pregnancy tests, and we don’t have access to medical records from [Tuesday] night. She’s very confused and doesn’t know what’s going on because she never received medical care.”
Her family added that ICE had confirmed her pregnancy and even gave her prenatal vitamins. They blamed ICE for not giving her the right medical care while she was pregnant. Her husband said she told him she was bleeding. He asked her to report it to ICE.
Mother loses baby to miscarriage—due to lack of medical care in ICE detention center.
Despite severe vaginal bleeding—she wasn't taken to hospital for 6 hours.
Agent then handcuffed her to hospital bed.
ICE policy mandates the release of pregnant woman—why was she even there?… pic.twitter.com/c66bmXYYSX
— LongTime🤓FirstTime👨💻 (@LongTimeHistory) May 12, 2026
After that, she reported the bleeding immediately, but allegedly did not get medical attention for hours. When she was taken to the hospital, she claimed to have given confusing updates. An ICE agent told her she was not pregnant, but later she learned about her miscarriage from a psychologist.
Meanwhile, an ICE spokesperson said, “(Morillo) was discovered to be pregnant upon intake and has received care from facility medical staff, including seeing a nurse practitioner on March 29. She is scheduled to see the facility doctor on April 27 and has an OBGYN appointment scheduled for May 12.”
The statement further revealed that she was treated for a headache on April 22, but did not see an OBGYN. Later on May 5, she was taken to the hospital when she self-reported her bleeding. There are reports that Morillo was handcuffed to the hospital bed and was given conflicting updates about her health.
