“It is a dirty place [the detention centers]– very dirty. Many, many infections – disease. More than a hundred people were sharing two toilets… one shower for everybody.”
CPA
Irwin County Detention Center has been under fire in the past year (2020) over allegations of eugenics use on detainees. This detention center is located in Ocilla, Georgia. This is a for-profit detention facility similar to that of Stewart Detention Center. According to PennState Law’s Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, Irwin County Detention Center is “…owned by Irwin County but is run by LaSalle Corrections. It was contracted between ICE and Irwin County Jail in 2010 to house detained immigrants. ” Unlike Stewart, the Irwin detention center houses both male and female detained immigrants” (Project South).
Eugenics is the practice or advocacy of controlled selective breeding of human populations (as by sterilization) to improve the population’s genetic composition
merriam-webster
PennState Law’s Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic states that “…men and women are housed separately…” at Irwin County Detention Center. “Units range from settings more like a dorm with bunk beds to an open space with everyone sleeping in the same room. Some women report living in large dorm like settings, which are overcrowded and lack privacy. Men have reported two different living set ups – one with small cells and one with a large dorm style living area that houses over fifty people in bunk beds. Some of the male detained immigrants have reported being housed in living areas that are divided up into two and four-person cells with a washbasin and toilet in each cell, and no windows. Each of these units consist of thirty-two beds and three phones, a few tables, a shared recreation area, and one television in English and one in Spanish… According to detained immigrants, the dorms are dirty, dusty, and unsanitary” (Project South). Keep in mind that not all undocumented immigrants speak only Spanish or English.
Food quality and medical attention in the detention centers are grossly inadequate. Several detained immigrants have reported to multiple sources, including Project South, that they have found “…objects in the food, being forced to eat rancid foods, and needing to supplement their diets by purchasing food at the commissary, which they are allowed to do twice per week. The food served is very high in sodium, mostly potato-based, and contains little to no fruit, vegetables, or meat.”
“The lack of adequate access to medical care is alarming. Detained immigrants must make a 4 a.m. sick call in order to be seen by medical staff. Irwin employs two to three on-duty medical staff during normal working hours, and a doctor who comes in on occasion. Most of the time, detained immigrants are only able to see medical staff. All detained immigrants are supposed to receive a medical evaluation at intake. Some detained immigrants reported more extensive physical examinations upon arriving at the facility, while other individuals reported only being asked medical history questions without a physical exam. Some immigrants reported that they have never seen a doctor at the facility at all.”
Excerpt from Project South’s “Imprisoned Justice Report,” pages 47-48
According to Business Insider, the doctor in question, Dr. Mahendra Amin, was not “certified by the American Board of Obstetrics & Gynecology.” These women were not instructed what these gynecological procedures were for the majority of the time. A lot of these procedures resulted in unwanted hysterectomies. Please, reach out to Georgia Detention Watch for further information. Below is the whistleblower press conference where nurse Dawn Wooten brought these human rights violations to the forefront.
You can reach Georgia Detention Watch on Facebook (@GeorgiaDetentionWatch), Twitter, and their website, https://gadetentionwatch.wordpress.com.
Explore More: To see information about eugenics use on immigrants in the past go here: Eugenics Use Against Immigrants
According to the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was signed on December 10, 1948, detention centers like Irwin County are committing major human rights violations. See OHCHR | International Law for further information.
Last updated: April 10, 2021.
U.S. Immigration Detention 
You must be logged in to post a comment.