Norma Bowe, a 69-year-old nurse and professor, was flung to the ground by ICE agents outside Delaney Hall, an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on Memorial Day. The incident, caught on video, has led her to file a federal tort claim against the US government, a step she sees as part of a larger pursuit of justice.
Bowe had been operating a mobile clinic from a converted camper van outside the facility for about a year, offering free health checks to families and protesters. That day, she was called over to help what she thought was a medical emergency. Instead, she encountered a line of two dozen ICE agents in paramilitary gear. Bystanders were recording the scene when a federal agent dragged a young woman across the ground. Bowe moved closer, and an agent grabbed her from behind, flinging her face-down onto the sidewalk.
Legal hurdles for suing federal agents
Taking legal action against federal officers is more complicated than suing local police. Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, plaintiffs must first file a claim and wait up to six months for a response before they can sue. These are essentially negligence claims against the US, not individual officers, and are decided by a judge without a jury.
In July, the ACLU filed 54 claims in 17 states and Washington DC on behalf of people who suffered violence or neglect at the hands of federal law enforcement. One of those claims was filed for Bowe. She told the Guardian she knows she has better security and protections than most, but added: "If this is what they're doing to me outside with impunity, what the heck are they doing to the people inside?"
Conditions at Delaney Hall
Delaney Hall reopened in May to house more than 1,000 people under the Trump administration's deportation initiative. Geo Group, a private prison operator, runs the facility under a 15-year, $1bn federal contract. Detainees have reported rotten food, contaminated water, and lack of medical care. Several hunger strikes have occurred, and at least three people have died in custody since May, including Edwin López-Cornejo, who died in July after reporting numbness and irregular medication.
Bowe has continued to visit the facility, offering medical care and listening to families' stories. She has written medical letters for detainees, but families often return defeated. "I have taught students for years about the reality of death," she said. "But what is happening to people at the hands of federal immigration officers in the US today is not just incomprehensible – it is preventable."
Bowe does not know the identities of the agents who hurt her. If she ever faces them, she said she would ask: "What if I was your mother or sister? Where is your humanity?"
