ACLU-NJ Files Legal Claim Against the Federal Government on Behalf of Nurse Harmed by Federal Law Enforcement

NEWARK – The ACLU of New Jersey filed a claim against the federal government on behalf of Dr. Norma Bowe, a grandmother, professor of public health at Kean University, and registered nurse, who was assaulted in front of Delaney Hall by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while there to run her mobile health clinic. The filing is part of a coordinated nationwide effort by the ACLU involving 54 claims across 17 states and Washington D.C.

Since the beginning of President Trump’s second term, federal law enforcement agents have terrorized communities and people in their custody with a blatant disregard for the law. The consequences have been deadly. Conditions in ICE facilities are so inhumane that the rate of deaths in ICE custody has more than doubled since Trump’s term began, reaching its highest level in over a decade. In early July, reporting revealed that, after the White House pushed to increase arrest rates, ICE officials detained more than 10,000 people in five days. Only days later, ICE agents in unmarked vehicles shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas while he was on his way to work. The following week, a federal agent shot and killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine.

In New Jersey, Dr. Bowe’s claim demonstrates how federal agents routinely use excessive force against those appalled at the inhumane conditions inside Delaney Hall and aligns with what so many people are experiencing at the hands of ICE agents across the country.

“I was violently attacked by ICE agents while I was trying to provide medical care for people visiting their loved ones in Delaney Hall,” said Dr. Norma Bowe, a registered nurse and professor of public health at Kean University. “ICE agents are acting like they have impunity and are inflicting harm however and whenever they want; without accountability, more people will get hurt and die. ICE must be held responsible.”

Across the country, the ACLU is fighting back against the Trump administration’s illegal conduct by filing claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), one of the few legal tools available to seek financial compensation for wrongdoing by federal government employees. Through this coordinated effort, ACLU affiliates are representing dozens of people and families who are seeking justice for the harm they experienced at the hands of federal immigration agents.

“As the Trump administration continues to enable ICE agents to brutalize communities, it’s important we use every tool available to seek justice,” said Jeanne LoCicero, Legal Director for the ACLU of New Jersey. “Dr. Bowe’s experience is one more example of how ICE is acting lawlessly and poses a danger to everyone in our communities. ICE must be held to account through all legal means available.”

Each of the more than 50 claims that have been filed across the country tells an individual story of someone who was brutalized by immigration enforcement. Together, they reveal a widespread pattern of civil rights violations and abuse carried out by officials nationwide, affecting people who are immigrants, U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, families, workers, and people exercising their constitutional rights.

Earlier this month, the ACLU released a report analyzing immigration enforcement actions in the first year of President Trump’s second term. The report, Agents of Chaos and Cruelty, examines more than 1,200 immigration enforcement incidents across eight states and found that more than 400 of those incidents involved misconduct by immigration agents, including excessive force, racial profiling, intimidation, and abuse.

The ACLU and its affiliates will continue to work to defend the rights of everyone, including people harmed by Trump’s immigration forces, and hold the administration accountable for its unlawful and inhumane actions.