10-year-old immigrant girls are given pregnancy tests at the U.S.-Mexico border

(Image credit: LOREN ELLIOTT / Getty Images)

published 6 March 2019

All immigrant girls over the age of 10 coming through the southern U.S. border receive a pregnancy test, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said during a Congressional hearing on border security on Wednesday.

The tests are being administered due to a high prevalence of sexual assault cases for those making the trek into the U.S.

"Very unfortunately, because of the increase in violence, at ICE, when we have families with children, we have to give every girl a pregnancy test over 10. This is not a safe journey," Nielsen said.

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Nearly 70 percent of migrants and refugees entering Mexico reported being victims of violence while making the journey, CNN reports, and nearly one-third of women reported being sexually abused.

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Marianne is The Weekâ€™s Social Media Editor. She is a native Tennessean and recent graduate of Ohio University, where she studied journalism and political science. Marianne has previously written for The Daily Beast, The Crime Report, and The Moroccan Times.