November 21, 2025
Mrs. Ramirez (for herself, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Tokuda, Ms. Simon, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Ms. Velázquez, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Carson, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ross, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Ms. Jacobs, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Ms. Randall, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. García of Illinois, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Ms. Rivas, Mr. Mullin, Ms. Balint, Mr. Cisneros, Ms. Adams, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Ms. Stansbury, Mr. Davis of Illinois, and Mrs. Beatty) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
Recognizing that immigrant justice and reproductive justice are inseparable and must be pursued together.
Whereas reproductive justice is defined as the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, to control one’s own sexuality, gender, and reproduction, and to raise families in safe and healthy environments;
Whereas immigrant justice demands the dismantling of systems that criminalize migration, tear apart families, and deny immigrants access to health care and full personhood;
Whereas immigrant justice demands legal pathways to citizenship, labor protections, and community safety;
Whereas both immigrant and reproductive justice are rooted in a shared struggle against the structural systems of racism, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and economic oppression that police bodies and restrict bodily autonomy;
Whereas discrimination based on immigration status, race, sexuality, gender identity, and economic class intersect to determine an individual’s access to reproductive health care or exercise of bodily autonomy without fear of detention, deportation, or violence;
Whereas millions of immigrants are denied access to basic rights, including health care, housing, and protection from exploitation, undermining their ability to make autonomous reproductive decisions;
Whereas immigrants are frequently denied reproductive health care, including abortion, contraception, prenatal, maternal, postpartum, and mental health care;
Whereas all individuals have the right to humane, comprehensive, timely, equitable reproductive care irrespective of an individual’s immigration status while in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody or in interactions with other law enforcement, including access to prenatal, postpartum, mental health, and family planning care;
Whereas numerous reports and investigations have identified systemic failures of DHS, including by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to provide timely, appropriate reproductive health care to detained individuals and pregnant individuals;
Whereas pregnant minors are often limited in their reproductive health care choices when they are placed in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) of the Department of Health and Human Services, and in 2020, more than half of ORR-funded shelters serving children were located in States with restrictive abortion policies;
Whereas, from 2016 to 2018, over 4,000 pregnant individuals were detained and subjected to inadequate medical care where facilities ranged in compliance with pregnancy care standards;
Whereas reports have exposed egregious abuses, including forced hysterectomies, denial of abortion, and medical neglect of individuals in detention;
Whereas recent cases, such as the tragic loss of Iris Dayana Monterroso-Lemus’ pregnancy while detained under ICE custody, illustrate the severe consequences of DHS’s neglect and failure to provide appropriate medical care;
Whereas CBP’s May 2025 revocation of protective policies for pregnant individuals and infants further endangers the health and dignity of detained individuals by removing previously established minimum standards of care;
Whereas, despite the Biden administration’s efforts to designate pregnant individuals as a protected class, these protections have since been reversed or weakened, leaving pregnant individuals vulnerable to detention and inadequate care;
Whereas DHS’s current policies lack standardization and transparency, and have led to mental health harm and trauma among detained immigrants and their families;
Whereas the denial of health care, the separation of families, and surveillance tools utilized for immigration enforcement deter individuals from seeking the care they need, thereby assaulting their reproductive freedom, parenting rights, and community well-being; and
Whereas reproductive justice cannot exist without immigrant justice: Now, therefore, be it
Sec.
That the House of Representatives—
(1)
affirms that reproductive justice and immigrant justice are inseparable and intersectional, and must be pursued together through policies centered on lived experiences;
(2)
affirms the role of Congress in conducting oversight regarding the treatment of those detained, particularly vulnerable populations, including pregnant individuals;
(3)
affirms the inherent dignity and humanity of all immigrants and denounces any policies that treat people as unworthy of adequate, timely health care or fundamental human rights due to immigration status;
(4)
condemns policies and practices such as immigration detention, coerced or denied reproductive health care (including sterilization, abortion, and contraception), and denial of reproductive health care access, which represent forms of government control over immigrant bodies;
(5)
condemns policies that restrict or fully prohibit access to health care coverage for immigrants;
(6)
calls on Congress to eliminate the 5-year bar and categorical exclusions on immigrant access to Federal health programs, including Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Plan, and Affordable Care Act coverage;
(7)
calls on the Secretary of Homeland Security, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to reinstate, permanently, the protective status of pregnant individuals;
(8)
calls on the Secretary of Homeland Security, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to implement transparent oversight and accountability mechanisms that monitor reproductive health care quality across all detention facilities;
(9)
calls on the Secretary of Health and Human Services, including the Office of Refugee Resettlement, to ensure unaccompanied immigrant youth can access the health care that they need, including abortion, without delay, no matter what State they are held in;
(10)
requests that the Secretary of Homeland Security, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, assess and identify any and all barriers and delays in access to reproductive health care services for those under custody;
(11)
affirms the right to comprehensive reproductive health care for all, regardless of immigration status, and promotes equitable, inclusive services for immigrant communities; and
(12)
calls on the Secretary of Homeland Security to report to Congress all of its internal reports regarding individuals in detention.