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.

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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.