Migrant women in detention centers might soon be given the option of getting an abortion even if the procedure is illegal within the state where the woman is held.
A memorandum from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Tae Johnson offered details regarding the new policy.
“This memorandum serves as a reminder of existing ICE policies and standards requiring that pregnant individuals detained in ICE immigration custody have access to full reproductive health care,” read the letter sent to agency official Corey Price, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
”This is also a reminder that, pursuant to existing ICE policy, it may be necessary to transfer a detained pregnant individual within an area of responsibility (AOR) or to another AOR, when appropriate and practicable, in order to ensure such access,” it added.
ICE facilities already allow abortions for migrants in cases of rape, incest, or a threat to a mother’s life, per the agency’s current regulations. The new policy would allow the expansion of access for those detained and awaiting the outcome of asylum claims.
The change is also an action to address trigger laws and new restrictions added in several conservative-led states following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June. The new ICE policy would take precedence in states with laws that strongly limit abortion, allowing abortions in states where they would otherwise be illegal.
It is unclear how many women the new policy could impact. Though the number of migrants crossing the nation’s southern border has surged during the Biden administration, the number of women in detention who would seek an abortion while detained is unknown.
The upcoming policy change also signals a strong contrast with former President Donald Trump. Trump administration leaders sought to ban abortion procedures for minor women in detention by ICE, leading to a lengthy legal battle that ended in 2020 with a policy that prohibits Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) staff and staff employed by any ORR-funded shelter from blocking or interfering with an unaccompanied pregnant minor’s access to abortion.
The memo also follows an executive order signed last week by President Joe Biden that seeks to preserve access to abortion. The order will not change the overturn of Roe v. Wade but offers other options for women who seek abortion access.
“Let me be clear. While I wish it had not come to this, this is the fastest route available,” Biden said. “The fastest way to restore Roe is to pass a national law codifying Roe, which I will sign immediately upon its passage on my desk.”
Biden also encouraged Americans to vote in record numbers to support abortion access. He noted the need for two additional pro-abortion rights senators and a pro-abortion rights House needed to “codify Roe” as federal law.
“I don’t think the Court—or for that matter the Republicans who for decades have pushed their extreme agenda—have a clue about the power of American women. But they’re about to find out,” Biden said.