Alma Bowman filed a case on August 1 in a Georgia court in the US against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials for her unjust detention.

Bowman, 58, was arrested on March 26 when she attended her check-in at the ICE Atlanta Field Office with her two children, her lawyer, and supporters. The check-in is part of the Alternatives to Detention program run by the ICE, where immigrants with faulty documents are regularly summoned so they can continue to stay in the country.

According to Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta and the Center for Constitutional Rights, Bowman’s arrest violates the due process outlined in the US Constitution and ICE’s own policies.

Bowman lost her resident status after her conviction and imprisonment for fraud in 2017. While detained at Irwin County Detention Center, she exposed severe human rights violations against women in the facility. Investigations revealed that women in the center were forcefully hysterectomized and their health was disregarded. At least 43 women suffered abuse in that facility. The case remains open, with Bowman serving as one of the witnesses.

Bowman and her lawyers believe that ICE’s push to detain and deport her is linked to her whistleblowing and testimony in this case.

She is currently detained at Stewart Detention Center, where she helps fellow women understand the complexities of the immigration system and campaigns for the Equal Citizenship for Children Act.

“No matter what color, no matter what race, what language you speak, we’re all the same. We’re all human. We shouldn’t have to be separated from our families. And to me, it seems like it’s ICE’s main goal,” Bowman said.

“We are fighting not just for Alma’s freedom but for the rights of all immigrants wrongly detained by the government,” Bowman’s lawyer Samantha Hamilton said.

Bowman is among those whose immediate release is being advocated for by the Malaya Movement USA, Gabriela USA, Tanggol Migrante Network, and Bayan USA. The Justice for Alma Bowman campaign is part of the National Defend Migrant Workers Campaign and the Tanggol Migrante Network.

At present, thousands of immigrants are summoned by ICE for their check-ins, making it easier for authorities to arrest, detain, and eventually deport them to wherever.