ICE Calls ‘Uterus Collector’ Allegations ‘Very Serious’ In Probe Of Georgia Facility

This article features our client Dawn Wooten and was originally published here.

The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Friday the disturbing whistleblower allegations about the treatment of women in a Georgia detention facility “raise some very serious concerns that deserve to be investigated quickly and thoroughly,” in a case that has raised more questions about the Trump Administration’s treatment of immigrants.

KEY FACTS

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday called for an investigation into the Georgia ICE detention center where a complaint from whistleblower Dawn Wooten, one of the facility’s nurses, detailed health care abuses, including questionable hysterectomies and a refusal to test for and report coronavirus cases.

Wooten alleged that many detained women were taken to an unnamed gynecologist whom she labeled the “uterus collector” because of how many hysterectomies he performed.

Dr. Mahendra Amin, a gynecologist who performed surgery or other gynecological treatment on at least eight women detained at Irwin County Detention Center since 2017, has been linked to the case in media reports; but he has pushed back saying he has only performed one or two hysterectomies in the past three years.

An Associated Press investigation found some women were not certain what medical procedures they received, but the review did not find evidence of mass hysterectomies and attorney Scott R. Grubman said in a statement to Forbes that Amin and his legal team “vehemently deny… the whistleblower’s allegations as they relate to Dr. Amin” adding that ultimately “Dr. Amin will be cleared of any wrongdoing.”

Pelosi asked for an immediate investigation by the Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General and DHS has said in media reports that it is conducting an independent review.

In Friday’s statement, ICE’s acting director, Tony Pham, said “ICE welcomes the efforts of both the Office of Inspector General as well as the Department of Homeland Security’s parallel review.”

CRUCIAL QUOTE

“Dr. Amin is a highly respected physician who has dedicated his adult life to treating a high-risk, underserved population in rural Georgia.”

Attorney Scott R. Grubman in a statement

KEY BACKGROUND

Several legal advocacy groups filed the 27-page whistleblower complaint with the DHS’s Office of the Inspector General, the agency’s internal watchdog, on Monday, on behalf of Wooten, citing testimony from the nurse and several detainees. Wooten, who worked full-time at the Irwin Detention Center in Georgia until July, said the facility would send many detainees to see a particular gynecologist outside the facility who she described as the “uterus collector.” Wooten said that “everybody he sees has a hysterectomy” in the complaint, detailing situations in which some of the immigrant women may not have understood what procedures they were undergoing due to language barriers or poor explanations. Pham said in his statement that “If there is any truth to these allegations, it is my commitment to make the corrections necessary to ensure we continue to prioritize the health, welfare and safety of ICE detainees.” The allegations come as the Trump Administration continues to take heat over its treatment of immigrants — including a proposed ban on immigration from mostly Muslim countries, and the separation of children from parents at the Southern border.