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Who is Zharick Daniela Buitrago Ortiz? 8-month pregnant woman in ‘serious medical distress’ facing deportation by ICE
Zharick Daniela Buitrago Ortiz, a pregnant woman seeking asylum in the US after her father was allegedly murdered in Colombia, is allegedly facing deportation.
An eight-month pregnant woman who is in “serious medical distress” is facing deportation from Atlanta International Airport, her attorney told Newsweek. Zharick Daniela Buitrago Ortiz, 21, has been experiencing intense back and abdominal pain, her legal counsel said.
"This is an abuse of a pregnant woman in detention," Anthony Enriquez, an attorney with the Kennedy Human Rights Center representing Buitrago, told the outlet on Wednesday, January 21. "This is an example of ICE acting without any type of compassion for someone who is on the point of labor. And we'd like this to stop immediately."
Who is Zharick Daniela Buitrago Ortiz?
Ortiz fled Colombia with her family last year and arrived in the US in November. She was accompanied by her mother and two younger siblings, all of them seeking asylum after her father was murdered in Colombia for reporting political corruption, her attorney said. She was separated from her family as she was 18 at the time.
According to Enriquez, Ortiz recently learned that the father of her child was also murdered in Colombia, allegedly by the same people who killed her dad.
Ortiz’s mother was allowed to file an asylum application after passing a credible fear interview, the attorney said. However, Ortiz initially did not pass and was issued an order of expedited removal. Currently, she has a pending asylum claim as a derivative child on her mother’s application. Ortiz’s attorney said she spent her entire time in the US in federal custody.
"This is a violation of her rights to have her asylum application heard," Enriquez said.
Ortiz, who was initially detained in Louisiana, has since been transferred to Atlanta. According to Enriquez, Ortiz “wanted to leave urgently, that she did not want to give birth while her baby was in ICE custody, and that she wanted help because she did not want to be separated from her baby.”
Enriquez alleged that even though his client has been in severe pain, ICE has denied her medical treatment. “She's in great pain currently,” he added.
Enriquez further said that Ortiz has no criminal record in Colombia and has not had any hearings in the United States. Her mother has since been released from detention, but is “distressed” over her daughter’s situation.
Enriquez has urged authorities to immediately halt the removal.
