Hysterectomies being performed without consent and at high rates, medical requests being tossed in the shredder, and fabricated medical records and the mishandling of a deadly virus all sound like they’re straight from a movie. However, according to a whistleblower who filed a complaint against an ICE detention center in September, all of this is a reality for countless immigrants.
These allegations were made by nurse Dawn Wooten, who previously worked for the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia before being demoted for “asking hard questions.” According to the complaint, multiple immigrants reported their worries regarding a high rate of hysterectomies being performed on women. It also stated that many of these women were unaware of the fact that they had had hysterectomies, which raises the concern that they did not truly consent to this procedure, considering many of them knew nothing about it. An attorney at Project South, an organization representing Wooten, claimed that advocates and immigrants have been reporting the poor conditions of this detention center for years. Over one hundred members of Congress demanded that the DHS look into the allegations and respond with a briefing by the 25th.
ICE “‘vehemently disputes the implication that detainees are used for experimental medical procedures’” and “does not comment prematurely on the allegations out of respect for the process of matters pending before the inspector general”, according to NPR. Additionally, they told AP that anonymous, unproven allegations should be faced with deserving skepticism. Though allegations include one immigrant’s report who had spoken to five women that didn’t realize that they had hysterectomies done, a medical official at ICE said that only two hysterectomies had occurred at this particular facility since 2018.
This is not the first time allegations accusing ICE and U.S. detention centers of mistreating immigrants have risen. For example, back in August, a Miami ICE facility was accused of feeding Muslim immigrants pork, which goes against their religion. From 2014 to 2018, thousands of complaints about the sexual abuse of detained children were filed. Additionally, the number of miscarriages occurring in detention centers almost doubled from 2017 to 2018.
The thought that Dawn Wooten’s claims hold any truth is chilling. However, it’s important to consider that her accusations could be true, especially when looking at ICE’s history of making immigrants face horrible conditions.
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Written by: Brinley Pethe
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