Anabella Gyasi traveled from Ghana to the United States with a valid tourist visa and a medical appointment for her four-year-old son, G.O.O., who was born with physical disabilities affecting the use of his hands. She had done everything right. She secured the visas. She booked the appointment at Akron Children's Hospital for May 30. She followed the rules.

When she landed at Dulles Airport on May 19, U.S. Customs and Border Protection took her and her son into custody. As of this writing, they have been held there for more than a week.

The ACLU of Virginia filed an emergency petition in federal court on Gyasi's behalf, alleging she and her son have been held in a windowless room with a single bed, toilet, and sink, and that they were denied food and hygiene. DHS disputes these claims. What is not in dispute is that Gyasi was transported to a nearby hospital on two separate occasions after experiencing vaginal bleeding and lightheadedness. Hospital staff confirmed her pregnancy and high blood pressure, and expressed concern that she was not eating enough and was overstressed. She is pregnant. Her son has a disability. They have been in airport detention for over a week.

Gyasi is not alone. The ACLU says she is one of a growing number of pregnant women detained at U.S. airports in the wake of the Trump administration's executive order targeting birthright citizenship.

An immigration hearing is scheduled in the U.S. Eastern District Court of Virginia. But Gyasi and her son should not have to wait for a court date to receive basic dignity. No pregnant woman should be hospitalized twice during airport detention. No disabled child should spend a week in a holding room while a scheduled medical appointment goes unmet.

We are calling on CBP and DHS to release Anabella Gyasi and her son immediately pending her immigration hearing, on Congress to establish enforceable minimum medical care standards for pregnant women and children in CBP custody, and on Virginia's congressional delegation to demand a full accounting of conditions at Dulles airport detention facilities. We are also calling on CBP to establish clear, protected pathways for families traveling to the United States for documented medical purposes with valid visas.

Gyasi followed the rules. The government should follow them too.