In the evolving political landscape of the United States, immigration has become increasingly criminalized, as immigration detention centers operate as carceral spaces where reproductive injustices are perpetuated. These injustices include forced sterilizations, inadequate medical care, and denial of access to reproductive services, which reveal the need to center a Reproductive Justice framework that affirms the right to bodily autonomy and the ability to parent in safe environments. This paper examines the intersection of immigration, reproductive justice, and childbirth, with a specific focus on the experiences of undocumented and detained women. Drawing from Indigenous feminist frameworks, I investigate how undocumented women navigate childbirth outside the dominant U.S. medical model, and whether parteras (midwives) can serve as a culturally grounded, community-based alternative. I ask: What alternative birthing practices exist among undocumented communities, and can parteras be implemented to support these women? Through a qualitative cross-national analysis of Mexico’s integration of parteras into its healthcare system, I explore the possibilities for replicating such models in the U.S. This work seeks to illuminate both the gendered and racialized impacts of structural barriers undocumented women face in accessing reproductive care. Ultimately, I argue that reimagining reproductive healthcare for undocumented women requires a decolonial and justice-centered approach that honors cultural traditions, affirms autonomy, and resists the carceral state.

Authors:
Daniela Gallardo, Arizona State University, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Daniela Gallardo is a PhD student at Arizona State University in the School of Social Transformation in Arizona, United States. Her research focuses on immigration studies in the United States.

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