Nurse accuses ICE of assault
Says agents shoved her to ground at Delaney Hall
By: Hanna adely
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
.... A New Jersey nurse who said she was "violently" shoved to the ground by federal agents outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in May [2026] has filed a legal claim against the U.S. government.
.....
Norma Bower is one of dozens of people who filed claims across the country on July 29, [2026] represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, to seek "Justice for the harm they experienced at the hands of federal immigration agents," the organization said.
..... Bowe, who runs the Global Grace Health mobile clinic providing health care to undeserved communities, was volunteering outside Deal any Hall on Memorial Day when the alleged incident unfolded. she was trying to help a young woman after U.S. Immigration and Custom's Enforcement agents dragged her and ripped off her shirt, Bowe said.
..... As she tried to help, Bowe said, ICE agents grabbed her by the shirt and threw her to the ground. Video shows a chaotic scene, before Bowe falls hard on the ground with her face hitting the pavement.
..... "I was violently attacked by ICE agents while I was trying to provide medical care for people visiting their loved ones in Delaney Hall," Bowe, a registered nurse and professor of public health at Kean University, said in a statement issued by the ACLU.
..... "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," she said.
..... Bowe suffered a fractured kneecap and a torn meniscus, according to the claim.
.....
Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to request for comment.
..... The ACLU and its affiliates filed 54 claims in 17 states and Washington, DC, under the Federal Tort Claims Act. They are seeking finical compensation for alleged wrongdoing by federal employees - including what the ACLU says is "serious violence, abuse and neglect."Tort claims are among the few remaining legal tools for accountability, the ACLU said. The U.S. Supreme Court has largely blocked direct civil rights lawsuits against federal mitigation agents.
.....
The ACLU of New Jersey said Bowe's claim reflects of a pattern of excessive force sued against activist and protesters who have gathered daily outside Delaney Hall.
.... Protests swell outside the Newark [NJ] facility after recent detainee hunger strike calling for lease of vulnerable detainees and improved living conditions.
.... "As the Trump administration continue to enable ICE agents to brutalize commutes, ti'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," LoCicero said. "ICE must be held to account through all legal means avail be."
..... The Claims follow the ACLU's report on July 16, [2026] titled Agents of Chaos and Cruelty, that alleges rampant misconduct by federal mitigation agents across the country.
.....
The authors cited hundreds of instance allegedly involving use of force and threats of force in immigration arrests or in response to protests. Tactics included physical tackles, vehicle blockages or ramming, and sue of tasers or chemical irritants.