Our Shared Fight for Alma - How a Navy Daughter Became a Whistleblower and the State Wants to Deport Her

Alma Bowman has lived in the United States for 49 years. She was born in the Philippines while her father was on active duty in the US Navy. Under the law in force at the time, she should have acquired US citizenship at birth. Yet to this day the government refuses to recognize it. Instead, she was arrested again in March 2025, held in detention for eight months, released with an electronic ankle monitor - and remains under threat of deportation. The case is being heard in Macon, Georgia.

The arrest was deliberate. On March 26, she reported as required for her annual ICE check in Atlanta - a condition stemming from an earlier case. Before she even entered the building, she had a bad feeling. Her attorney accompanied her, but inside they suddenly said Alma had to be taken downstairs alone - for fingerprinting. In reality, she was pushed directly from the building into a vehicle, without information, without explanation. Alma uses a wheelchair - an officer slammed her into a wall with full force. No warrant, no justification. “They rolled me out without support, without stopping, straight into the car,” she says. For more than half an hour, her family had no idea where she was.

At the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, the situation worsened. Hardly any access to medication. No access to a CPAP machine. Overcrowded cells, people sleeping on the floor, no right to rest, little help. Language barriers made everything worse. Many women did not even know they had a right to a defense. “They had never heard of organizations that help,” Alma later said. “If I can help, I help.”

Alma Bowman knew what these systems feel like - she had already lived through it. From 2017 to 2020, she was held at the Irwin County Detention Center. That was when she became a whistleblower. She spoke openly about medical abuse against detained women - including non consensual gynecological procedures. Her testimony triggered a chain reaction: national headlines, international criticism, investigations. Irwin was later shut down. What remained was a system unwilling to change - and a woman who survived it.

After her renewed detention, a volunteer legal team, supported among others by Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta, journalists, NGOs, and the Center for Constitutional Rights, filed a habeas corpus petition. The argument is clear: under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as the child of a US citizen on active duty, she should automatically be recognized as a US citizen. But ICE under Trump has ignored all evidence for years. Our near daily reporting has documented this - and it has made Alma Bowman a thorn in their side.

On November 25, 2025, two days before Thanksgiving, an officer suddenly stood before her and said: “Are you ready to go home?” Alma did not understand. She asked only: “May I hug you?” - and only when that was allowed did she know it was not a trick. After eight months of struggle, she was released.

But free is not the same as free. She wears an electronic ankle monitor, must check in regularly, and remains under ICE supervision. And Alma? She thinks of the women who are still inside. “I think every day about those who had to stay behind. I want them to be able to go home too. Like me. I will keep fighting. I want people to know what happens there. Not just for me. Not just for Filipinas. For everyone.”

The deportation protection applies only until August 2026, which was achieved on January 1, 2026 - until then, the immigration authority is reviewing her application for an official certificate of citizenship. Her son says: “Every time we have to go to an appointment, we are afraid they will take her away again.” We will continue to fight in this case as well, and the Bowman case will not be the last, but we are working at the limit.