Immigrant Women Detained By ICE Will No Longer See A Doctor Accused Of Performing Unwanted Gynecological Procedures

The gynecologist told ICE officials this week he will no longer see patients from a Georgia detention facility, according to an official with knowledge of the matter.


Last updated on September 22, 2020

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An undocumented Mexican immigrant waits to be deported from an ICE detention center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Immigrant women detained at a facility in Georgia will no longer see a doctor accused of performing unwanted gynecological procedures, an ICE spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday.

The gynecologist, Mahendra Amin, told ICE officials this week he would no longer see patients from the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, according to an official with knowledge of the matter.

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The allegations against Amin came after a whistleblower complaint was filed with the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General by Dawn Wooten, who worked as a nurse inside the detention center. Wooten, who primarily focused on medical care and COVID-19 testing inside the facility, alleged unwanted hysterectomies were being performed on immigrant women.

However, in a statement, Irwin County Hospital said that dating back to 2017, Amin had only performed two hysterectomies on immigrants at Irwin County Detention Center.

"Dr. Amin is a long-time member of the Irwin County Hospital medical staff and has been in good standing for the entirety of his service to the Irwin County community," the hospital said.

Scott Grubman, an attorney for Amin, did not immediately return a request for comment.


In a previous statement through his attorney, Amin "vigorously" denied the allegations.

"Dr. Amin is a highly respected physician who has dedicated his adult life to treating a high-risk, underserved population in rural Georgia," Grubman said. "We look forward to all of the facts coming out and are confident that, once they do, Dr. Amin will be cleared of any wrongdoing."

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BuzzFeed News asked the hospital's general counsel for information on how many total procedures Amin had performed on immigrant women, in what situations a doctor was allowed to conduct procedures without consent, and how often an interpreter was used when treating detainees, but did not hear back.

Ken Cuccinelli, the second-in-command at DHS, told the National Review that not only did he request the department's inspector general quickly finish its investigation, but that he was also sending three staff members to do a separate investigation. Cuccinelli said the agency was sending a nurse, a lawyer, and a Coast Guard doctor to the facility.

Adolfo Flores is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in McAllen, Texas..

Hamed Aleaziz is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in San Francisco.