In 2021 and 2022, multiple allegations of sexual assault were reported against a male nurse at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Stewart Detention Center. Between May 2021 and 2022, seventeen allegations of assault were made within the center, eleven of which were reported against staff.
The center has a long history of reporting sexual assault and abuse. It is also being investigated for forced labor and cruel retaliation for non-compliance.
The women who have made allegations have reportedly been aggressively interrogated and threatened with lengthy prison terms over their grievances, although the center has denied these allegations. The investigation into the nurse’s behavior has been completed and he will remain employed by Stewart as a medical provider until July 2.
Project South, a nonprofit focused on cultivating social movements and fighting human rights abuses, has called for the closure of detention centers in the state. Meanwhile, Georgian US Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are calling for investigations into the allegations.
Azadeh N. Shahshahani, human rights attorney and director of Legal and Advocacy for Project South, says the center’s conditions are a violation of human rights.
“We need additional members of Congress, specifically the Georgia Congressional Congregation, to sign up,” Shahshahani said. “This is about human rights violations. Hopefully everyone can agree that sexual assault is wrong and needs to stop immediately.”
