WASHINGTON DC— Congress will begin an investigation into the allegation of forced sterilizations of women detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE), Democratic congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee said on Friday, who also joined the campaign for the release of the migrant, Pauline Binam.
Binam is one of the women who, according to a complaint filed Monday by nurse Dawn Wooten, was subjected to involuntary gynecological surgeries, including hysterectomies, while detained at a facility in Irwin, Georgia.
Binam was at the ICE facility from October 2017 until last March, when she was transferred to another center in Houston (Texas).
More migrant women detained by ICE claim they were operated on without their consent
In August 2019, the immigrant thought she would have a simple "dilation and curettage" operation due to a cyst on an ovary, but later learned that the doctor removed one of her fallopian tubes, hindering her ability to have more. children in the future.
Binam was saved from deportation last Wednesday thanks to the intervention - literally minutes before he boarded a plane - by several Democratic congressmen, including Pramila Jayapal and Sheila Jackson Lee.
Department of Homeland Security investigates alleged sterilizations of women at ICE center
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During a conference call, Congresswoman Lee;
Binam's sister, Nicole;
her lawyer and civic activists repeated their call for ICE to release her on humanitarian grounds by September 30, when her daughter turns 12.
"We will not give up on the situation at the facility in Georgia, we will not give up on Pauline, she deserves a decent treatment" and return to her family, said the congresswoman.
Lee promised that, in addition to ongoing investigations by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Congress will also hold ICE accountable for an end to "inhumane treatment" of migrants.
According to Lee, various Congressional committees will hold hearings and demand that the Donald Trump administration explain what happened at the detention center.
"I am concerned that this has happened to begin with," and that there is a possible cover-up, Lee stressed, assuring that Binam "does not pose a threat to national security" and should be released on humanitarian grounds.
Pauline's attorney, Van Huynh, of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, said her client burst into tears when she found out about the operation she had without her consent.
Huynh has formally requested a stay of deportation from Binam, while denouncing the multiple flaws in the immigration system.
Binam was placed in deportation proceedings for an immigration offense, although the precise circumstances were not clarified by the activists, who demanded her release so that she can heal from the "mutilation" to which she was subjected.
In that regard, the Reverend Leeann Culbreath said that Binam "has already suffered immensely" and every day that she is detained in Texas, she runs the risk of contracting COVID-19.
For activists, what happened in Irwin is another reason to demand the permanent closure of that detention center.
Tony Pham, acting as director of ICE, promised that if the allegations are proven, the agency will make "the necessary corrections to ensure that we continue to prioritize the health, well-being and safety of detainees."