Background
Alma Bowman has not lived in the Philippines for over 40 years. Her Filipina mother and US Navy Officer father had her in 1966 in Pasay City, Philippines, and then moved to the US in 1977 where she currently resides in Macon, Georgia with her two children. Despite having a father and children of US citizenship, ICE decided to detain Alma after a routine traffic stop in 2017 and hold her in detention for three long years.
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Alma was only released after attorneys with the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR) discovered documents that could prove her US citizenship. Marriage contracts and immigration forms related to her citizenship all were readily available, yet ICE didn't seem to have the evidence while in court (Inquirer 2020). Three long years stolen from Alma due to negligence, yet still ICE continues to harass and threaten her with deportation.
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Update
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Alma Bowman went to her ICE check-in on Wednesday 3/26/25 a little nervous but with high hopes. She's been a model citizen, a loving parent, and a vital leader in her migrant community with the support that day to prove it. Yet ICE has chosen to not only detain her but send her to the notorious Stewart Detention Center that has faced multiple humanitarian complaints and has lead the country in COVID-19 infections and deaths. The dismal conditions and lack of medical support are potentially fatal to Alma with her current health conditions, some of which were a result of her previous detention. We are trying our best to advocate for her release but the Filipino embassy and consulates remain practically useless in their lack of support. We need all hands on deck because it will be our community who will get us through. Our governing leaders have too often proven spineless and antagonistic toward our valuable kababayan. We will never give up hope, though. We will see us through.
RETALIATION
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Why is ICE so interested in Alma? Well, she testified against Georgia's Irwin County Detention Center with accusations from over 30 women of medical neglect and coerced gynecological procedures performed by Dr. Mahendra Amin (Lambe 2020). When the public found out, ICE attempted to hastily deport Alma by transferring her to a detention center in Arizona. Luckily, GLAHR's attorneys took on her case and were able to block the deportation (Olivares, Washington 2020).
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After her release, Alma discovered new hurdles to overcome with her inability to purchase healthcare, obtain a Driver's License, and work without the purchase of a work permit within the US. Alma must report to regular ICE check-ins in Atlanta, a two-hour drive from where she lives. The Philippines government has remained unable (or unwilling) to aid her in her struggle and have yet to find her missing birth certificate that would lead to her obtaining US citizenship. Alma remains in limbo, possibly facing deportation to any country given her lack of a birth certificate.
