Mother Talkers

Illegal Immigration & an Unfortunate Separation

by 1plain1peanut

Sun Nov 11, 2007 at 07:06:30 PM PDT

We all know that there have been horrible injustices due to immigration laws and homeland security in the past.  This recent incident is no exception.  On October 27th, Sayda Umanzor had her nine month old daughter Brittany, who was breastfeeding at the time taken from her arms when she and her husband were led away by authorities.  

"It was like a piece of me was torn away," Umanzor said Thursday, speaking through an interpreter.

I can’t even imagine going through a nightmare like that.  Apparently, her baby cried for days without her mother and her mother’s milk.  It took the jail three days to figure out they had a nursing mother in their custody.  A Spanish speaking La Leche League Leader alerted the jail that they had a breastfeeding mother and she tried to get her a breast pump.  What a mess... by then, I’m sure this poor mother is extremely engorged and uncomfortable.    By the way, the jail accepted the pump but for some reason the two sides didn’t connect and the milk had to be dumped.  

What a horrible tragedy to befall this family.  She may not have been in this country legally... but this is a totally appalling way to treat people.  My heart aches for this mom and her baby.  

La Leche's Stone said the nine-month-old was shocked by the disappearance of her mother and did not take formula for two days.

Advocates are trying to change the procedure for mothers and breastfed children.

Greg Palmore, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, said the agency approved Wednesday a new policy to address the needs of breast-feeding mothers.
"It basically ensures that you take humanitarian issues involving nursing moms into consideration," he said Friday. "It also ensures we make contact with state social service agencies to address caregiver issues."

Umanazor and her husband are originally from Honduras.  She, her husband, and one of their three children are facing deportation.  The other two children are US Citizens.

Umanzor rejoined her children and was fitted with an ankle bracelet which tracks her whereabouts...  Clutching her baby, she said she does not want to think about that.

What gets me, are the comments on the Cleveland.com site.  Wow... talk about cold.   It’s one “too bad... boot ‘em out” comment after another.

I don’t even see this so much as an illegal immigration issue, but again as we’ve talked about on this site... a human rights issue.  Just because someone commits “a crime” it doesn’t mean they can’t be treated with dignity.

And for that matter, why should this only pertain to breastfeeding mothers?  Why not infants who are formula fed?  Wouldn’t their babies also go through severe separation anxiety without their mothers?  Where do we draw the line?  What about toddlers and preschoolers?    I think they too would have a tough time without their mothers.  I know my kids would be an emotional mess if I was suddenly taken from our home.  

I don’t know what the answer is, but we definitely need an overhaul of our current immigration laws.  What do you think MotherTalkers?

Tags: illegal immigration, breastfeeding, Sayda Umanzor, separation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Honduras, human rights (all tags)

Permalink | 17 comments

  • BTW... (0 / 0)

    I swear I'm not obsessed with breastfeeding and I'm not seeking these stories out!  I'm still in the lactation information pipeline and sometimes these stories are just too interesting not to share.  

    "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream..."

    by 1plain1peanut on Sun Nov 11, 2007 at 07:08:40 PM PDT

  • This makes me so mad (0 / 0)

    I'm actually at a loss for words.  That poor woman.  That poor itty-bitty baby.

    What do you mean, uh-oh? baby pictures

    by round peg inna square hole on Sun Nov 11, 2007 at 07:11:39 PM PDT

    • I remember, when I was nursing (0 / 0)

      my first daughter 8.5 years ago now, there was a story in the news in Chicago about a 5-month-old nursing baby that police had basically ripped from its mother's arms. Apparently the mother and the father were divorcing and were in some sort of custody battle and a judge had ordered the baby to go to the father ... the baby ultimately was reunited with its mom and the cops were criticized for how they had handled the situation. All I could think about was the mom's engorgement, the panic the baby must have felt, whether the baby would even take a bottle of formula, and if the mom would lose her milk supply before she got the baby back! I was heartened to learn later that the baby did resume nursing, but what an unecessary trauma.

      by trueblue illinois on Sun Nov 11, 2007 at 08:55:31 PM PDT

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      • Oh, I recall (0 / 0)

        the "baby M" case when my son was an infant...that was the surrogate mother case with Marybeth Whitehead...her nursing infant was literally pulled out of her arms as well.

        by tjb22 on Sun Nov 11, 2007 at 09:00:26 PM PDT

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        • The insensitivity is incredible ... (0 / 0)

          obviously these are decisions made by men. The fact that they could casually dismiss the idea that a baby is nursing ... only someone with no real experience nurturing a baby could fail to take that into account.

          by trueblue illinois on Sun Nov 11, 2007 at 09:03:15 PM PDT

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          • A newborn/nursing infant (0 / 0)

            is still attached to the mother in a way that's little different than the manner in which a fetus is attached to the mother.  It is a physical bond.  Separation has not occurred.  

            by tjb22 on Sun Nov 11, 2007 at 09:06:02 PM PDT

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            • I agree- (0 / 0)

              it IS a physical bond.  A lot of newborn mammals walk almost immediately after birth.  Sure, they depend on their mothers for food, etc... but it's not the same kind of dependence that human babies have for their mothers.  They need their mothers for EVERYTHING and that attachment is strong.  

              "We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream..."

              by 1plain1peanut on Mon Nov 12, 2007 at 05:44:24 AM PDT

              [ Parent ]

            • more (0 / 0)

              It's actually a MORE intense bond then when they are still inside of you.  And of course, harder, because at least they sleep when they are on the inside.

              Although, it is rewarding being able to see their little faces.  : )

              by NJmom on Mon Nov 12, 2007 at 06:40:54 AM PDT

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  • Separating a mother from an infant (0 / 0)

    in this manner is child abuse.  Pure and simple.  If there is no compassion for the mother, at least try to muster a bit for this baby.  

    One of the strongest arguments those favoring the abolishment of slavery made was that families were separated in just such a manner...geez, humanity hasn't come to far in the last couple of centuries, has it?

    by tjb22 on Sun Nov 11, 2007 at 07:16:57 PM PDT

    • yeah - compassion for the baby (0 / 0)

      you'd think, given that the baby is an 'Muuuurican' citizen, there would be compassion there. Oh wait, no. We're living in George Bush's America.

      It just makes you want to rip your eyeballs out for even having to read this kind of thing. Not that I think Australia's immigration policy is any kinder, mind you.

      by Rachel on Sun Nov 11, 2007 at 07:37:44 PM PDT

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      • You know, (0 / 0)

        a case can be made for tightening our borders in order to prevent more illegal immigration.  A case can be made for cracking down on those who knowingly hire illegal immigrants.  However, for those that are already here, we need a reasonable policy in order to confer some kind of status...for decades, we've turned a blind eye and actually allowed encouragement of their relocating here....how we can break apart families now in the name of law enforcement is just cruel.  We're telling them they can't stay here, yet many who have been here for years have no place to go back to.  

        by tjb22 on Sun Nov 11, 2007 at 07:53:11 PM PDT

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        • it's the worst possible Catch-22 (0 / 0)

          which is why I'm for liberalising immigration policy. If we allow free, easy to obtain immigration visas for non-native workers, you a.) cut out the source of profit for people traffickers (win); b.) get legitimate workers on the rolls for taxes, contributions and social security (win); c.) remove the gray area that lets major corporation exploit illegal workers through low wages and poor conditions (win); and d.) remove the need for a large part of the policing forces in INS (or Homeland Security), thereby lowering spending on a federal bureaucracy, and also state policing functions (win). I really can't see why we don't do this - less crime, safer conditions, more taxes paid in, less taxpayer money spent? What's the downside?!

          by Rachel on Sun Nov 11, 2007 at 08:02:15 PM PDT

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          • I don't like (0 / 0)

            "guest worker" programs...if we are going to ask them here, then I think we have to allow them to eventually apply for citizenship.  But yes, its about taking the criminality out of the process.  Ofcourse, I suppose there's plenty out there who are making too much profit out of the system as is...

            by tjb22 on Sun Nov 11, 2007 at 08:09:49 PM PDT

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          • oh rachel i love you! (0 / 0)

            you make such wonderful points!

            while i think the borders should be secured (because it will help cut into human trafficking) i agree that making visas easier to obtain with less hassle is a great way to equalize the system and get the earnings into the tax system. (a lot of people throw a fit, but this is why a lot of states, NM included, give illegals IDs, so they must obtain ITINs and contribute.)
              While my DH was illegal, he worked for a major homebuilder. once he became legal, they fired him because they didn't want to pay him a fair wage.

              Back to the baby being torn away thing: my husband was falsely detained for a crime that occurred in michigan (where my husband has not so much as identified on a map). as a result, he was put on a probation for his residence status and lost his job and our family's health insurance. But the immigration laws do not allow an illegal, whether currently or previously, to take any legal action against the state for misconduct. So, when he came out of 'detainment' he had no job, no insurance and an emotionally scarred baby who, to this day, will not let my husband out of his sight for fear he won't come back.

            you get what you give

            by momof2 on Tue Nov 13, 2007 at 10:59:02 AM PDT

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  • story (0 / 0)

    What a horrible story.

    Thank you for acknowledging that a formula-feeding mother/baby duo would ache for each other just as much.

    by NJmom on Mon Nov 12, 2007 at 05:04:00 AM PDT

Permalink | 17 comments