Statement from Katherine Olivera, Director of Government Relations, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, on the introduction of the Immigrant Justice is Reproductive Justice Resolution

“We applaud Rep. Delia Ramirez, Ayanna Pressley, and Jill Tokuda for introducing their resolution affirming immigrant justice inseparable from reproductive justice. This resolution ensures that immigrants, particularly pregnant and postpartum people in detention centers, can access the sexual and reproductive health care they need and removes any arbitrary restrictions that stand in the way.

“We’ve been outraged to learn about how immigrants are treated in detention centers, including being denied abortion, prenatal, maternal, and postpartum care. The everyday impact that anti-immigration policies have on our communities, like the fear of deportation and family separation that stops them from seeking health care, is a direct attack on reproductive justice and our freedoms to make decisions about our bodies and lives.

“Now more than ever, we need proactive policy solutions like this resolution that confront the structural systems depriving immigrant communities of health care. At Latina Institute, we will never stop working toward a future where every person – regardless of their identity or immigration status – can live with salud, dignidad, y justicia.”