Abstract
Introduction
Pauline Binam arrived in the United States from Cameroon as a toddler, with no notion of the dangers her new home had in store. At twenty-eight years old, Pauline found herself separated from her daughter and awaiting deportation in the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia. Pauline consented to what she believed was a minor procedure after suffering from irregular menstrual bleeding, an ailment likely triggered by her two-year confinement. Unbeknownst to Pauline, the doctor removed one of her fallopian tubes, barring her ability to give birth to more children. A year later, Pauline came forward following a whistleblower report by former Irwin facility nurse, Dawn Wooten. Wooten alleged serious medical misconduct by the medical staff and guards at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) facility, including an alarming rate of coerced hysterectomies conducted on people detained there.