Women in ICE Custody Denied Menstrual Care, Forcing Them to Bleed or Improvise Using Toilet Papers and Rags

Women in ICE custody denied menstrual care, forcing them to bleed or improvise using toilet papers and rags

A Government Accountability Office report reveals women in ICE detention often lack adequate menstrual products, leaving detainees to improvise with unsafe materials while federal oversight remains

Despite Rules to Provide Menstrual Products, Some in ICE Jail Can’t Access Them

Period products like pads and tampons are considered an essential public health need, but access for women and trans people held in federal custody — from prisons to immigration detention centers — remains inconsistent. While specific figures for women held in immigration detention have not been reported for President Donald Trump’s second term, the detention population broadly reached record… Source

People in ICE detention struggle to access period products, despite rules to provide them

Period products like pads and tampons are considered an essential public health need, but access for women and trans people held in federal custody — from prisons to immigration detention centers — remains inconsistent. While specific figures for women held in immigration detention have not been reported for President Donald Trump’s second term, the detention population broadly reached record highs in 2025, growing from about 40,000 to nearly 70…