Notorious ICE detention center accused of forced sterilization is shut down

Ocilla, Georgia – The Biden administration has ordered the shutdown of a notorious migrant detention center in Georgia internationally condemned for alleged human rights violations.

Women from a nearby immigration detention center were taken to Irwin County Hospital for what they say were unnecessary gynecological operations.
Women from a nearby immigration detention center were taken to Irwin County Hospital for what they say were unnecessary gynecological operations.  © IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas sent a letter on Thursday instructing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to end its contract with the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia and a second center in Massachusetts, The Intercept reported.

The Massachusetts facility came under fire in December when the Bristol County Sheriff's Office, which operates the center, fired pepper spray and released dogs on detainees who demanded better pandemic care.

The Irwin County facility, operated by private prison company LaSalle Corrections, came under scrutiny in fall 2020 when nurse and whistleblower Dawn Wooten detailed the center's neglect to offer proper protections against Covid-19.

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She even said detained women were subjected to hysterectomies and other gynecological procedures without first attaining proper consent!

Wooten sent a letter to Congress and filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The DHS launched an investigation, but no results have been released.

In a closed-door session with Congress members, lawyers reportedly confirmed that at least 57 women at the Irwin County center suffered gynecological procedures without consent since 2018. Many of the women were then deported.

Female victims file lawsuit against abusive doctor

Protesters gathered in February to demand the closure of Irwin County Detention Center.
Protesters gathered in February to demand the closure of Irwin County Detention Center.  © IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

In December, 14 of the women filed a lawsuit against Dr. Mahendra Amin, who often received patients from the detention center.

"In many instances, the medically unindicated gynecological procedures Respondent Amin performed on Petitioners amounted to sexual assault," the lawsuit states, though Amin has denied any wrongdoing.

On May 13, several women sent a letter to President Biden demanding that he end all contracts with LaSalle and other for-profit prison facilities. "Many women faced retaliation from ICE, with some even being deported to prevent them from testifying in any investigations, a tactic frequently employed by ICE to silence and disappear its victims," the women said.

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Kevin Caron, a steering committee member of Georgia Detention Watch, celebrated Thursday's announcement, saying, "The closure of the Irwin County Detention Center marks a decisive victory in the long war against white supremacy in the US south and across the globe."

He continued, "While they have yet to receive justice, today those who suffered at Irwin have been vindicated. The abuses at Irwin are emblematic of our urgent need to end immigrant detention and abolish ICE."

Despite Secretary Mayorkas' memo, the battle is far from over. Many of the women detained at Irwin are now being transferred to Stewart Detention Center, another privately run immigration prison in Georgia with a long track record of deadly abuse.

Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

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