ICE deported an 8-month-pregnant Nicaraguan asylum seeker, Leonela Gomez, after detaining her post-appointment, sparking outcry over coercion and migrant treatment.

A 27-year-old pregnant Nicaraguan woman, Leonela Liliana Gomez Hernandez, was detained by ICE in Los Angeles after a medical appointment and deported to Nicaragua while eight months pregnant, according to her husband and advocates. She reportedly called him from a borrowed phone, saying she was pressured to sign deportation papers and was told agents couldn’t accommodate her pregnancy. Gomez, who had sought asylum and missed a court date due to fear of deportation, was unaccounted for in ICE records until her call. The case, part of a pattern involving detainees allegedly coerced into signing removal documents, has raised concerns about transparency and treatment of vulnerable migrants.