Alma Bowman, 59, was released from a Georgia immigration detention center just days before Thanksgiving after months of legal and public pressure. MACON, Ga. — After months of uncertainty, legal battles and sustained public advocacy, Alma Bowman is back home in Macon — but her fight is far from over. Bowman, 59, was released from the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, on Nov. 25, just two days before Thanksgiving, after spending eight months in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. It marked the second time she had been detained by ICE, despite living in Central Georgia for nearly five decades and despite claims that she is a U.S. citizen. Bowman was detained on March 26, 2025, during what was supposed to be a routine annual check-in at ICE’s Atlanta Field Office — a requirement tied to her release from a previous detention. She said she had a bad feeling even before the appointment. Her attorney went inside with her, but Bowman said officers told them they needed to take her downstairs for fingerprinting. Instead, she said she was separated from her lawyer, taken out of the building, and driven directly to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin. “They wheeled me downstairs, didn’t even stop, straight outside to the SUV,” she said. “It took about half an hour before they even told my family I was gone.” At Stewart Detention Center, Bowman said she immediately struggled to access basic medical care. She has diabetes, high blood pressure, and relies on a CPAP machine to sleep safely. Bowman also described overcrowded conditions inside the facility, with some detainees forced to sleep on the floor. Language barriers and limited access to information added to the stress. Bowman said many women did not understand their legal rights or know where to turn for help. “A lot of these women never heard of any organizations, never heard of anybody that could help them,” she said. “If I can help somebody, I will do the best I can.” Bowman has lived in Macon since she was 10 years old, after moving to the United States from the Philippines. She is the daughter of a U.S. Navy veteran who was a U.S. citizen at the time of her birth. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, advocates argue Bowman should have automatically acquired U.S. citizenship at birth. However, the federal government has repeatedly refused to recognize her citizenship — a dispute that has shaped much of her adult life. This was not Bowman’s first time in immigration detention. From 2017 to 2020, she was held at the now-closed Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia. While detained there, Bowman became a key whistleblower in exposing allegations of non-consensual gynecological procedures performed on immigrant women. The claims eventually prompted investigations and drew international attention to conditions inside Georgia’s immigration detention facilities. Bowman was released from Irwin in December 2020 under an order of supervision, which required her to check in with ICE each year — a condition she had complied with until her detention this March. After Bowman’s re-detention, her legal team — including Asian Americans Advancing Justice–Atlanta and the Center for Constitutional Rights — filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court, arguing that her detention was unconstitutional and that ICE had no authority to detain or deport her. On Nov. 25, she said a deportation officer approached her with unexpected news. “When she came up to me and said, ‘Are you ready to go home?’ I just looked at her,” Bowman said. “I didn’t know how to react. I just said, ‘Can I hug you?’ When she let me touch her, I knew she was telling me the truth.” Bowman returned home just days before Thanksgiving, reuniting with her family after months apart. But her release came with conditions. She remains under ICE supervision, wears an ankle monitor, and must report regularly to immigration authorities. ICE has granted her a temporary stay of removal through August while U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reviews her application for a certificate of citizenship. “There’s still fear,” John Mitchell, her son, said. “Every time we have to report, we’re worried — are they going to detain her again?” Even as she adjusts to being home, Bowman says she constantly thinks about the women she left behind in detention. Bowman says she plans to continue speaking out about conditions inside immigration detention — no matter what happens next. “I think about the people I left behind and their families,” she said. “I want them home just like I’m lucky to be home with mine. I’m going to keep fighting. I’m going to let people know what’s going on. Not just for me, not just for Filipinos — but for everyone.”