Illegal Immigrant Who Gave Birth in US Avoids Rapid Deportation

‘Custody has since been transferred to [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], and she now awaits a court date,’ Homeland Security said.

A Customs and Border Protection seal patch is seen at Miami International Airport in Miami on Feb. 7, 2025. Marco Bello/Reuters

A Guatemalan illegal immigrant who crossed the U.S. border while eight months pregnant and gave birth in Arizona has bypassed fast-track deportation after the state’s governor intervened, her lawyer and a federal official said on May 3.

The woman, 24, had told her lawyer, Luis Campos, that she was set for rapid deportation after illegally entering the country. Campos alleged that federal agents had prevented him from seeing her in a Tucson, Arizona, hospital after she gave birth on April 30.

The case prompted Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, to contact federal and local officials.

“Gov. Hobbs has been clear in her opposition to inhumane immigration enforcement practices,” a spokesperson for the governor told local media outlets.

The Department of Homeland Security said on May 4 that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents initially rescued the pregnant woman, “who illegally crossed the border near Tres Bellotas Ranch.”

“She was taken to a hospital for care and remained under supervision until discharge,” the agency wrote on social media platform X. “Once a Notice to Appear was issued, she was given the opportunity to contact an attorney.

“CBP followed all laws and procedures. No rights were denied. Custody has since been transferred to [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], and she now awaits a court date. The child remains with the mother.”

Campos said the Guatemalan national, who was identified only as “Erika,” had fled a “violent situation” in her home country, according to the woman’s mother, who had asked him to represent her.

Campos said he talked to Erika on May 2 and she told him she had walked for two days in the desert before U.S. immigration authorities apprehended her roughly 50 miles south of Tucson, Arizona. Campos said she has the right to express fear of returning to her home country and request asylum.

“I’m hoping to get news either today or tomorrow that she’s been released,” the lawyer said.

He noted that Phoenix immigration lawyers had offered him assistance at the request of Hobbs.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House for comment.

White House border czar Tom Homan said in a recent interview that illegal immigrants who give birth in the United States are not immune from deportation.

“Having a U.S. citizen child doesn’t make you immune from our laws of the country,” Homan told CBS News’s “Face the Nation” on April 27.

“If [immunity is] the message we send the entire world, women are going to keep putting themselves at risk and come to this country.”

President Donald Trump immediately declared a national emergency at the southern border upon taking office earlier this year and ramping up deportation operations.

CBP has taken the previous CBP One app, which would-be illegal immigrants had used to schedule hearings before entering the United States, and recast it as the CBP Home app.

“If you are in the country illegally, self-deportation through the CBP Home app may preserve your future immigration options back into our country,” CBP wrote in a May 3 post on X.

Reuters contributed to this report.