Illegal immigrant gives birth in custody with one leg cuffed to her bed

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

It started when Juana Villegas, an illegal immigrant from Mexico who was nine months pregnant, was pulled over by a police officer in a Nashville suburb for a routine traffic violation.

By the time Mrs. Villegas was released from the county jail six days later, she had gone through labor with a sheriff’s officer standing guard in her hospital room, where one of her feet was cuffed to the bed most of the time. County officers barred her from seeing or speaking with her husband.

After she was discharged from the hospital, Mrs. Villegas was separated from her nursing infant for two days and barred from taking a breast pump into the jail, her lawyer and a doctor familiar with the case said. Her breasts became infected, and the newborn boy developed jaundice, they said.

...

Lawyers and immigrant advocates say Mrs. Villegas’s case shows how local police can exceed their authority when they seek to act on immigration laws they are not fully trained to enforce.

...

She was stopped on July 3 in her husband’s pickup truck by a police officer from Berry Hill, a Nashville suburb, initially for "careless driving." After Mrs. Villegas told the officer she did not have a license, he did not issue a ticket but arrested her instead. Elliott Ozment, Mrs. Villegas’s lawyer, said driving without a license is a misdemeanor in Tennessee that police officers generally handle with a citation, not an arrest.

...

"Whether this lady was documented or undocumented should not affect how she was treated in her late pregnant condition and as she was going through labor and bonding with her new baby," Mr. Ozment said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/20/us/20immig.html

[Amby 490]

ughhhhhhh...seriously if you are prepared to break the law then you must be prepared to face the consequences of breaking the law. I bet she's setting up her case right now to try to get permanent residence because she was mistreated.

[Caladan 19]

What's wrong with posting a sherriff's officer outside the door? Is a woman in labor going to outrun Nashville's finest?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

We treat our pet dogs better than we treat Mexicans in this country.

Cuff her leg while she's pregnant? Completely unnecessary. The only purpose it serves it to dehumanize.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

What's wrong with posting a sherriff's officer outside the door? Is a woman in labor going to outrun Nashville's finest?

Not only that, she was given a traffic citation...a misdemeanor. You can't arrest someone for that. Are they now using local police to hold illegal immigrants for deportation? There's got to be some kind legal precedent.

[almaty 19]

Whether this lady was documented or undocumented should not affect how she was treated in her late pregnant condition and as she was going through labor and bonding with her new baby," Mr. Ozment said

i agree..totally.,.this lady did not commit a felony ..and felonies i have known while in the hospital and interviewed did not have their leg shackled..

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Whether this lady was documented or undocumented should not affect how she was treated in her late pregnant condition and as she was going through labor and bonding with her new baby," Mr. Ozment said

i agree..totally.,.this lady did not commit a felony ..and felonies i have known while in the hospital and interviewed did not have their leg shackled..

Oh Dean.... what can I tell you. That beeyatch is Mexican, and illegal (of course!) so she deserves what she gets; she and her darn anchor baby son of sin.

That's that. Questions, anyone?

[Jenn! 918]

It was only *one* leg that was cuffed! She does have another one.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

It was only *one* leg that was cuffed! She does have another one.

Riiiiight.... those police people did not have enough cuffs to prevent such a hardened criminal from escaping....

[almaty 19]

good point sister len..there will be a lawsuit and that county will be found in fault.....

it is a sad state of affirs to do this to a lady in labor...and keep her from her baby

[KarenCee 3]

ughhhhhhh...seriously if you are prepared to break the law then you must be prepared to face the consequences of breaking the law. I bet she's setting up her case right now to try to get permanent residence because she was mistreated.

Oh come on...even you should be able to see the stupidity of cuffing the leg of this woman while she laboured to have her baby. Sheesh.

[peejay 327]

Lawyers and immigrant advocates say Mrs. Villegas’s case shows how local police can exceed their authority when they seek to act on immigration laws they are not fully trained to enforce.

And I'm sure the lawyers and immigration advocates most likely were the main source of information for this story.

Once the true facts of the case are determined, I'm sure the real story will be quite different than the NY Times' hatchet job.

The illegal alien and her offspring will be just fine in the care of the Mexican government upon her return to Mexico. There's no place like home and no better people than your own people. They will welcome her with open arms and no expense will be spare for her or the kid. Just wait and see for yourself.

Edited July 21, 2008 by peejay

[Nagishkaw 510]

I wonder if she has medical insurance?

[Amby 490]

ughhhhhhh...seriously if you are prepared to break the law then you must be prepared to face the consequences of breaking the law. I bet she's setting up her case right now to try to get permanent residence because she was mistreated.

Oh come on...even you should be able to see the stupidity of cuffing the leg of this woman while she laboured to have her baby. Sheesh.

what's that supposed to mean?

the leg cuffing was going too far but don't whine for being arrested if you're pregnant or not if you're illegal

[KarenCee 3]

ughhhhhhh...seriously if you are prepared to break the law then you must be prepared to face the consequences of breaking the law. I bet she's setting up her case right now to try to get permanent residence because she was mistreated.

Oh come on...even you should be able to see the stupidity of cuffing the leg of this woman while she laboured to have her baby. Sheesh.

what's that supposed to mean?

the leg cuffing was going too far but don't whine for being arrested if you're pregnant or not if you're illegal

precisely what I mean dear didn't you read my entire post?