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SCREEN CAPTURE Alma Bowman is released from ICE detention. |
Alma Bowman was released from the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, and reunited with her family after spending eight months detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”).
“We are so thrilled that (Bowman) has been released from detention and has regained her freedom,” said Samantha Hamilton, the attorney from Asian American Advancing Justice who represented Bowman..
"And we are once again inspired by Alma, who fought tirelessly for her release and for the release of dozens of other women who she has met during the last eight months that she has been in Stewart — a place she never should have been in in the first place,” said Filipino American lawyer Hamilton.
Bowman has lived in Macon, Georgia, for nearly 50 years. Her father was a US citizen serving in the US Navy when he met Alma’s mother in the Philippines, where Alma was born.
“I always thought that I was a citizen of the United States,” Bowman said. She was married to a US citizen, whom she is separated from.
On March 26, 2025, Bowman attended her routine yearly check-in at the ICE Atlanta Field Office in a wheelchair, with her two children, legal team, and a crowd of supporters. Inside, ICE officers told her that she needed to be taken downstairs and separated from her attorney to be fingerprinted. But instead of being fingerprinted, she was detained and sent to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.
Bowman has lived in Macon, Georgia, for nearly 50 years. Her father was a US citizen serving in the US Navy when he met Alma’s mother in the Philippines, where Alma was born.
“I always thought that I was a citizen of the United States,” Bowman said. She was married to a US citizen, whom she is separated from.
As the daughter of a US-citizen father, she should have acquired citizenship under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) of 1952. But the US government has repeatedly refused to recognize Bowman’s citizenship, leading to her being detained by ICE, exposing the ongoing implications of an arcane and racist law according to Advancing Justice-Atlanta.
FYI:Alma Bowman's case could affect thousands of US citizens born overseas.Bowman was previously detained by ICE from 2017 to 2020 at the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia, a facility known for its documented human rights abuses against people in immigration detention. While detained at Irwin, she helped expose abuse by a doctor who was performing non-consensual gynecological procedures on immigrant women, bringing international spotlight to Georgia. Alma was released on an order of supervision in December 2020. Nevertheless, she was detained again by ICE, highlighting the cruelties of a broken and inhumane system.
Since being re-detained in March, Bowman has tirelessly fought her unjust detention and for the government to recognize her citizenship. On July 30, 2025, she filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the US District Court for the Middle District of Georgia arguing that her detention was unconstitutional and seeking her immediate release. She is represented by Advancing Justice-Atlanta and the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Alma’s adult children, Chris and John Mitchell, are eager to welcome their mother back home. “We are super excited that moomin gets to come home. It would have been another sad Thanksgiving without her. The plan is to get her some good home cooking and make sure she's comfortable while catching her up on all she's missed. We are still worried about the status of her ongoing case, but at least she will be with family instead of locked away while in this limbo.”
Bowman’s legal team is also celebrating her long-awaited release. “We are so thrilled that Alma has been released from detention and has regained her freedom,” said AAJA's Hamilton. “And we are once again inspired by Alma, who fought tirelessly for her release and for the release of dozens of other women who she has met during the last eight months that she has been in Stewart—a place she never should have been in in the first place.
"Alma is a drum major for justice," said Kayla Vinson, Staff Attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights. "We could not be happier that she will get to enjoy the end of the year where she should have been all along, at home with her family."
Bowman's release is tempered because she continues to push for the government to recognize her United States citizenship.
Bowman secured her release through her tireless advocacy and with the legal representation of Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta (“Advancing Justice-Atlanta”) and the Center for Constitutional Rights, as well as advocacy by the Malaya Movement USA and Georgia, Tanggol Migrante Movement, GABRIELA USA, and the International Women’s Alliance.
Alma’s adult children, Chris and John Mitchell, are eager to welcome their mother back home. “We are super excited that moomin gets to come home. It would have been another sad Thanksgiving without her. The plan is to get her some good home cooking and make sure she's comfortable while catching her up on all she's missed. We are still worried about the status of her ongoing case, but at least she will be with family instead of locked away while in this limbo.”
Bowman’s legal team is also celebrating her long-awaited release. “We are so thrilled that Alma has been released from detention and has regained her freedom,” said AAJA's Hamilton. “And we are once again inspired by Alma, who fought tirelessly for her release and for the release of dozens of other women who she has met during the last eight months that she has been in Stewart—a place she never should have been in in the first place.
"Alma is a drum major for justice," said Kayla Vinson, Staff Attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights. "We could not be happier that she will get to enjoy the end of the year where she should have been all along, at home with her family."
Bowman's release is tempered because she continues to push for the government to recognize her United States citizenship.
Bowman secured her release through her tireless advocacy and with the legal representation of Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta (“Advancing Justice-Atlanta”) and the Center for Constitutional Rights, as well as advocacy by the Malaya Movement USA and Georgia, Tanggol Migrante Movement, GABRIELA USA, and the International Women’s Alliance.
"While this is a major victory for Alma's family and friends, we as Tanggol Migrante, and the Defend Migrants Alliance will continue to fight for the genuine freedom for people like Alma, who see their issues connected to a shared experienced migrants face across the US,” said organizer June Colcol. “We encourage more people to join our movement and take collective action!"
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