A whistleblower’s report was made more complicated after local patients joined together to defend Mahendra Amin, the doctor accused of performing the hysterectomies on the female detainees at the Irwin County Detention Center. Still, women continue to come forward to say they were sterilized while held at the facility. Prism spoke with one former asylum-seeker who said Amin performed a hysterectomy on her without her consent. At one point during her stay there, she said her “insides kept hurting,” and she was sent to Amin for the procedure. She said no one ever explained what was happening and she didn’t receive pain medication after the procedure. Prism
ICE Breaks Own Policy by Detaining a Man on Church Grounds
Binsar Siahaan was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in February and was released with an ankle monitor while his case was pending. Siahaan lives on the grounds of Glenmont United Methodist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, where he and his wife Eko Sukemi work as church caretakers. Last week, agents told Siahaan they had to make sure his GPS monitor was working, but they handcuffed him and put him on track to be deported. Siahaan’s attorney and the clergy at Glenmont United Methodist are rallying to stop the deportation, especially since ICE has a policy against arresting immigrants in churches. The Washington Post
Asians Account for Larger Number of Migrants in Central America
Asians account for 21% of the migrants traveling through the Darién Gap, a dense jungle along the border of Colombia and Panama. A total of 87,191 migrants were detained by Panama’s border patrol SENAFRONT between 2010 and 2018, mostly from Haiti and Cuba. But Africans and Asians have formed a growing proportion from 2014 onwards. People from Nepal, India and Bangladesh make up the third, fourth and fifth largest populations of migrants crossing into Panama. In 2019, 17% of the migrants detained were from Asia, according to UNICEF. Tucson Weekly
Public Charge Lawsuit Continues
A lawsuit from several state attorneys general over the public charge rule continued in the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday. The public charge rule makes it harder for people to receive permanent residency if they’d used certain public benefits. Lawyers for the attorneys general argued the rule hurt public health, as immigrants will avoid seeking medical attention even if they need it. Last week, the Second Circuit issued an order allowing the government to enforce the public charge rule nationwide after a federal judge previously placed a nationwide injunction on it. Courthouse News
Living in Detention During the COVID-19 Pandemic
More than 5,000 people have contracted the coronavirus while in ICE detention, including more than 800 detainees this last week. ICE facilities in Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Virginia have all reported deaths as a result of COVID-19. Those who’ve contracted coronavirus include immunocompromised immigrants, including 35-year old Anthony, who was detained in New Jersey during the pandemic. He has sickle cell anemia, making it more likely that catching COVID-19 could be fatal. There was a COVID-19 outbreak in the prison where Anthony is being held, which he told HuffPost was likely sparked by guards as they were the only people interacting with the outside world. HuffPost
