Inside the Eloy Detention Center, Phoenix mother Beatriz Pastrana Candela says she miscarried after staff repeatedly told her she was not pregnant. She was arrested last November in Tempe and, according to medical documents reviewed by reporters, was nearly three months pregnant when agents detained her. Pastrana, who remains in ICE custody, told reporters she was brushed off when she begged for help as she experienced severe pain and bleeding.
According to Phoenix New Times, interviews with Pastrana and her family, along with medical records reviewed by LOOKOUT and New Times, indicate she tested positive for pregnancy soon after intake at Eloy and later miscarried at an outside medical facility. The reporting states that officers and medical staff initially accused her of lying when she said she was pregnant. Local advocates say her story matches other accounts from pregnant people in immigration detention who struggle to get timely medical care.
"I'm depressed, sad," Pastrana told Phoenix New Times about losing the pregnancy. Her son told reporters he wants people "to know what it's like to be separated from your mom who loves you, to not be able to be with her." ICE, in a written response, pushed back hard, saying that "claims that Ms. Pastrana was denied care, or that her requests for help were ignored, are categorically false" and that officers "followed standard procedures" during the arrest and processing. That gap between what Pastrana describes and what the agency insists is now at the center of the controversy.
What Happened Inside Eloy
The reporting describes Pastrana feeling escalating abdominal pain in a holding cell and being refused extra water while a visit with a doctor was delayed. She was moved through Florence and then to Eloy for intake. When she began bleeding, she was finally taken to an outside clinic, where a physician confirmed she had miscarried. The Eloy Detention Center is operated by CoreCivic; CoreCivic lists the facility at 1705 East Hanna Road in Eloy.
A Broader Pattern
Advocates and watchdog groups say Pastrana's case sits inside a much bigger pattern. Human Rights Watch reported that DHS confirmed 363 pregnant, postpartum or nursing people were detained or deported between Jan. 1, 2025 and Feb. 16, 2026. The Women’s Refugee Commission has also documented cases and reported that at least 16 miscarriages in ICE custody were recorded last year, raising persistent questions about whether detainees have real access to prenatal and emergency care; the commission published its findings earlier this year.
Advocates and Legal Questions
Arizona Rep. Adelita Grijalva called Pastrana's treatment "a shocking failure of basic humanity," according to reporting, and immigrant-rights groups are urging ICE and its contractors to use alternatives to detention for people with medical vulnerabilities. Pastrana is seeking protective relief while she remains in custody, and advocates argue that keeping people in remote detention facilities can slow down access to emergency care when minutes matter.
It remains unclear whether ICE will change Pastrana's custody status following the miscarriage. The agency maintains it followed procedures, according to its statement to reporters.
For now, Pastrana is still being held at Eloy, separated from her three other children, while local lawmakers and advocacy groups continue to press for more transparency around medical care in immigration detention. Her case has become a pointed example of the scrutiny on how pregnant and postpartum people are treated in far-flung federal lockups.
