A whistleblower complaint has been filed alleging widespread medical neglect at the Irwin County Detention Center (“ICDC”), an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) detention facility in Ocilla, Georgia.  The complaint was filed by a coalition of human rights groups on behalf of detained immigrants at ICDC and Dawn Wooten, an ICDC nurse and protected whistleblower.   

The complaint describes what it calls “jarring medical neglect at ICDC.”  The complaint’s allegations include ICDC officials’ refusal to test symptomatic detained immigrants for COVID-19, the shredding of medical request forms from detained immigrants, and the fabrication of medical records.  In addition to describing failures to protect detainees from COVID-19, the complaint alleges that several detained immigrants at ICDC have expressed concern about the high rate at which hysterectomies are performed on women detained at the facility.  The complaint reports that many ICDC detainees are sent to a particular gynecologist outside the facility for these procedures.

The whistleblower complaint follows an open letter sent to Congress regarding troubling treatment of detainees in ICE facilities.

Read the whistleblower complaint here, and the letter to Congress here.