1. Medical Care in Detention:
Claim: Iris Dayana Monterroso-Lemus says ICE gave her “no medical attention – nowhere. Not in Louisiana, not in Alabama” while she was pregnant. She attributes her pregnancy loss to a lack of prenatal care.

DHS Response: DHS insists this is false, claiming she “received prenatal care, including an ultrasound and OB-GYN visit, dental care, and medication” while detained tampafp.com.

Fact-Check: Hospital records from when Monterroso-Lemus was finally admitted on April 29 indicate her pregnancy was “complicated by no PNC” (no prenatal care). In other words, by the time of her emergency, doctors noted she had not received prenatal care. Monterroso-Lemus had repeatedly requested proper prenatal checkups (like an ultrasound) during detention, but says staff only did cursory checks of her blood pressure and urine. ICE’s contention that she had an “ultrasound” appears to refer to a fetal Doppler heartbeat check, not a full sonogram. There’s no evidence she ever received routine prenatal exams in custody.

The hospital’s physician note explicitly documents that she complained something was wrong with the pregnancy “a couple days” prior but “nothing was done” by the detention facility. This directly undercuts DHS’s claim of providing full prenatal care. In sum, available evidence (including her medical records) supports Monterroso-Lemus’s account that she did not receive meaningful prenatal care while detained, contrary to DHS’s assertions nashvillebanner.com tampafp.com. DHS officials say they have documentation of care, but when pressed by media to produce it, they did not release any records foxnews.com.

2. Access to Ultrasound:
Claim: Monterroso-Lemus says she “repeatedly asked for an ultrasound” to check her baby’s health, but detention staff “only tested [her] blood pressure and urine” instead.

DHS Response: DHS calls this false, saying she did receive a prenatal “fetal Doppler ultrasound” exam tampafp.com.

Fact-Check: This boils down to semantics. A fetal Doppler is a handheld device that checks the baby’s heartbeat; it is a limited form of ultrasound but not the same as a comprehensive prenatal ultrasound imaging that she was requesting. Monterroso-Lemus’s account indicates she never got a proper ultrasound scan to assess the fetus’s development – only basic vital sign checks nashvillebanner.com.

DHS’s own description confirms that any “ultrasound” was merely a Doppler heartbeat check, not a full sonogram tampafp.com. In context, her complaint is validated: she was seeking a thorough prenatal ultrasound, but did not receive one prior to the crisis.

The hospital report after her miscarriage noted she had no prenatal care in detention nashvillebanner.com, which implies no substantive prenatal imaging or monitoring was provided. Thus, DHS’s claim of “including a fetal Doppler ultrasound” doesn’t contradict Monterroso-Lemus’s story – it arguably confirms that all she got was a heartbeat check rather than the ultrasound scan she begged for.

3. Emergency Response (“Stroke” Symptoms):
Claim: Monterroso-Lemus felt so unwell at one point she “felt like [she] was having a stroke, and they still didn’t give me a medical exam,” she recounted nashvillebanner.com. She implies that even serious symptoms were initially ignored.

DHS Response: DHS says this is false and that “as soon as she identified the distress on April 29, ICE provided immediate medical assistance” tampafp.com.

Fact-Check: The timeline suggests a delayed response. Monterroso-Lemus began experiencing severe symptoms (extreme anxiety, possible neurological symptoms) days before April 29. She says she pleaded for help for three days while her fetus had already died in utero nashvillebanner.com. According to the hospital’s records, she reported no fetal movement, pain, and unusual discharge for three days prior to admission, and “she told the doctor [at the detention center]… but nothing was done” during those days. ICE only sent her to the hospital on April 29 after her condition worsened, which aligns with her claim that initial urgent warnings were not promptly addressed. So while DHS can technically say they responded “immediately” on April 29 once she was in obvious distress, that was after a 3-day delay during which her earlier complaints were apparently dismissed. The evidence strongly supports her account that there was a critical period of inaction.

In short, ICE did not act the first time she reported stroke-like distress; they waited until April 29 when the situation became undeniable.

4. Requests to Go to the Hospital:
Claim: Monterroso-Lemus recalls “I begged the doctors… ‘Please, take me to the hospital. I don’t feel well. I’m having contractions,’” but says she was told no and that her pain was “normal” for pregnancy. She alleges her pleas were ignored until it was too late.

DHS Response: DHS maintains this is false, asserting that “ICE sent her to a hospital immediately to receive medical care” as soon as it was needed.

Fact-Check: The record shows she was ultimately transferred to Ochsner LSU Health – Monroe Medical Center on April 29 when her stillbirth was discovered. However, immediately is not how Monterroso-Lemus or her doctors describe the timeline. Her attending physician’s report explicitly notes she had been experiencing serious symptoms for three days before hospitalization and had informed the detention medical staff days earlier with no action taken.

Only after three days of worsening contractions and a lifeless fetus did ICE finally transport her to the hospital. This contradicts DHS’s implication that they acted at the first sign of trouble. In fact, her partner and advocates suspect ICE delayed care and then rushed to deport her right after the stillbirth to “make the situation go away”. The evidence indicates she did beg for hospital care earlier and was rebuffed until April 29, so DHS’s statement that she was sent “immediately” is misleading at best.

5. Sleeping Conditions (Floor vs. Bed):
Claim: Monterroso-Lemus says that during her time in an Alabama ICE facility, “I was sleeping on the floor” because conditions were so poor.

DHS Response: DHS labels this false, stating “She was not required to sleep on the floor. She had a bed in her cell.”

Fact-Check: It’s possible both statements contain a grain of truth. Officially, ICE detention standards require that each detainee be assigned a bed or cot. DHS is effectively saying the facility provided a bed. However, Monterroso-Lemus’s first-hand account is that in practice she ended up on the floor in Alabama. This could happen if, for example, the bed was unusable, if she was placed in a holding area without a proper cot, or if overcrowding or facility conditions led detainees to sleep on mattresses on the floor – scenarios not unheard of in ICE detention. Without photographic or documentary evidence from that Alabama jail, we can’t definitively say why she was sleeping on the floor. What we do know is that Richwood (the Louisiana facility) was cited in 2023 for “unclean living conditions” and other failures, and many ICE facilities (including contract jails in the South) have faced reports of overcrowding and poor bedding.

Monterroso-Lemus had no incentive to lie about sleeping on a floor; her statement aligns with known detention issues, whereas DHS’s response is a perfunctory denial citing what should be the case by policy. In absence of a grievance or photo, we lean on her credible testimony that at least in one facility she did sleep on the floor despite any nominal “bed” being provided. DHS offers no evidence beyond asserting policy, so this point remains contested. It’s quite plausible she was effectively on the floor in Alabama, even if a bed existed in the cell.

6. Food and Nutrition (Cockroaches in Meals):
Claim: Monterroso-Lemus felt constantly hungry in detention and malnourished. She says “the food was so poor that many detainees would throw it away.” She even described being served spaghetti with “tube-shaped ground beef” and cockroaches in it. In short, she claims “she was starving and not getting the nutrients she needed,” and that the food was sometimes infested with insects.

DHS Response: DHS flatly denies this, saying “All ICE New Orleans detainees are provided appropriate dietician-cleared menus daily” per standards, implying that her nutrition was adequate and no, there were no roach-infested meals.

Fact-Check: Official standards on paper don’t always reflect reality. The Richwood Correctional Center (where she was held in Louisiana) has a documented history of poor conditions.

A DHS Inspector General report in 2023 found filthy conditions and substandard sanitation at Richwood. While that report didn’t explicitly mention food quality, such neglect often correlates with pest problems. Monterroso-Lemus’s specific anecdote of cockroaches in the pasta is hard to independently verify, but it’s consistent with the generally squalid conditions reported at that facility. ICE’s response is essentially “trust us, we follow the menu guidelines.” Yet detainees around the country have frequently reported inadequate portions and unsanitary food.

No contrary evidence (like meal logs or inspections attesting to food quality at Richwood in April) has been provided by DHS. Given Richwood’s known issues and the fact that multiple detainees would rather go hungry than eat the provided food, her claim is credible. It’s worth noting that hunger and weight loss are common complaints in ICE jails – “appropriate dietician-approved menu” or not. Without an on-site inspection, we can’t prove a cockroach was on her tray that day, but DHS’s blanket denial rings hollow against the weight of firsthand accounts and past facility violations.

7. Abuse and Guard Mistreatment:
Claim: Monterroso-Lemus alleges she faced “mistreatment and mocking from the guards” during her detention, adding that guards dismissed her pleas and even shackled her while she was in labor. She felt dehumanized by the constant guard surveillance and lack of empathy.

DHS Response: DHS again says this is false, stating “We have no record of a grievance filed by [the] detainee” about any mistreatment.

Fact-Check: The absence of a formal grievance does not mean abuse didn’t occur. In fact, the Richwood facility was cited for having “inadequate systems for medical grievances” and poor communication between staff and detainees. In such environments, detainees often fear retaliation or believe filing complaints is futile.

Monterroso-Lemus was also rapidly deported (within 10 days of her stillbirth), giving her little opportunity to navigate an English-language grievance process. Her accounts of guard behavior – mocking a pregnant woman in distress, keeping her shackled or under watch even as she delivered a stillborn baby – are harrowing, but unfortunately consistent with other reports of ICE detention treatment.

The fact that two armed guards watched her give birth and even shackled her legs at one point is corroborated by her hospital clinical notes (guards were noted at her bedside) and her own unchallenged statements.

DHS does not actually refute that she was shackled or under guard; they only note no grievance was filed about “mocking.” That’s a very narrow rebuttal. In sum, there is no evidence that her allegations of mistreatment are false – in fact, her detailed descriptions and the known history of the facility lend them credibility. DHS’s reliance on “no grievance on record” sidesteps the issue. Not filing a complaint (especially when one might be medically incapacitated or soon deported) is not proof that “nothing bad happened.” Given all the above, her claims of mistreatment by guards remain credible. DHS offers no affirmative evidence to disprove her, only a lack of paperwork.

8. Criminal History and Guatemala Warrant:
DHS Assertion: In an attempt to discredit Monterroso-Lemus, DHS highlighted that she “was arrested twice for child abuse/neglect with the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office” (in Tennessee) and that she “has an active warrant for homicide in Guatemala.” They emphasize she is a “criminal illegal alien” who entered the U.S. illegally in 2018 and was deported on May 9, 2025 tampafp.com theblaze.com.

Fact-Check: U.S. Records: It’s true that Monterroso-Lemus was taken into custody after a brush with local law enforcement in Tennessee. She herself stated she was arrested by Lenoir City police for missing a court date related to a child custody case for her children nashvillebanner.com.

We have not seen the actual criminal charging documents from Loudon County, but DHS claims she had two prior arrests there for child abuse/neglect. This could refer to instances where child protective services or law enforcement intervened; however, the Nashville Banner report suggests the situation was a custody matter (she had temporarily transferred two of her six children to her mother’s care) rather than intentional abuse nashvillebanner.com.

It’s possible she faced neglect allegations – but notably no details of any convictions or outcomes were provided. DHS is using her arrest record (not necessarily convictions) to paint her as a criminal. Without independent court records, we cannot fully verify DHS’s characterization.

Guatemala Homicide Warrant: This claim remains unverified by independent sources. DHS says Guatemala has an active homicide warrant for her tampafp.com. If true, one would expect that upon her May 9 deportation to Guatemala, authorities there might have detained her. We found no public reports from Guatemala about Monterroso-Lemus being arrested or charged with murder after her return – for instance, Guatemalan news coverage of her case (which did occur due to the controversy) did not mention any homicide warrant prensalibre.com. It’s possible such a warrant exists (ICE could have learned of it via INTERPOL or Guatemalan officials), but no documentation of this warrant has been presented publicly.

In fact, DHS officials declined to provide any of the “documentation” behind their claims when asked foxnews.com. Given the lack of independent confirmation, we must treat the homicide-warrant claim with caution. It may be true – or it may be an exaggeration or error.

The timing is also curious: Monterroso-Lemus had lived in the U.S. for over a decade nashvillebanner.com; if she were wanted for a serious crime back in Guatemala, it’s odd this wasn’t noted until after her story became politically charged.

In summary, Monterroso-Lemus’s prior encounters with law enforcement: yes, there were child-related cases in Tennessee, but the context (a custody battle and possible neglect allegations) is important. Homicide warrant in Guatemala: claimed by DHS, but not verified in any public record we could find. It appears DHS included these details to shift the narrative, yet without transparency the murder warrant remains an unproven assertion theblaze.com.

Conclusion: Point-by-point analysis of DHS’s “Fact Check” reveals that many of the department’s rebuttals are misleading or unsupported by the evidence. Monterroso-Lemus’s core story – that she received inadequate prenatal care and suffered neglect in ICE custody resulting in the loss of her pregnancy – is strongly backed by medical records and her detailed testimony nashvillebanner.comnashvillebanner.com. DHS’s counter-claims (e.g. that she had “FULL” medical care) are not substantiated by any released documentation and are directly contradicted by hospital records noting lack of prenatal carenashvillebanner.com. Several of DHS’s “FALSE” labels hinge on technicalities or absence of paperwork (grievance forms) rather than disproving the substance of her allegations. Moreover, DHS’s emphasis on her criminal background, especially an unverified foreign homicide warrant, seems like an attempt to assassinate her character and distract from the apparent medical negligence she endured. In true Anonymous-style scrutiny, we find the government’s fact-check to be riddled with half-truths and omissions. The paper trail that does exist – her medical records, inspector general reports on the facility, and contemporaneous accounts – support her claims far more than DHS’s version of eventsnashvillebanner.com. Until DHS releases the actual medical files (hospital transfer forms, prenatal care logs, etc.) that it claims to have, their assertions should be viewed skeptically.

So far, every independent piece of evidence (from the hospital and journalists) aligns with Monterroso-Lemus’s narrative of neglect, not with DHS’s rosy depiction of attentive care.

Verdict: The DHS “fact check” appears to be a defensive spin rather than an honest accounting – and it does not hold up under close examination. The tragic outcome in this case underscores systemic problems in ICE detention, which DHS’s press release cannot paper over with unverified claims. The facts, as we can verify them, are on Iris Monterroso-Lemus’s side.

Sources: Monterroso-Lemus interview and medical records in Nashville Banner nashvillebanner.com; DHS press release and statements tampafp.com; Prensa Libre prensalibre.com; Fox News coverage foxnews.com; DHS OIG report on Richwood facility nashvillebanner.com.


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