Advocates and community leaders are calling for the release of Pauline Binam, a 36-year-old single mother, domestic violence survivor, and member of the LGBTQ+ community who is currently detained at Stewart Detention Center in south Georgia.
Binam, who was brought from Cameroon by her family at the age of two, has been held in detention since December 2025. This is her second time being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Binam was held at Irwin County Detention Center for two years, where her fallopian tube was allegedly removed without her consent. According to the GoFundMe page in support of Binam, she is currently experiencing abdominal pain and fears seeking medical care due to medical mistreatment.
While in detention at Stewart, Binam has reported poor conditions like inadequate running water, cold showers, volatile staff, and unclean and broken facilities.
During a press conference on July 8, Noël Heatherland, the Statewide Organizing and Outreach Manager for Georgia Equality, said Binam was representative of “so many of the people” Georgia Equality advocates for.
“Often LGBTQ+ people are segmented away from society and “othered” but LGBTQ+ people are everywhere,” they said. “We are a part of every group. There are LGBTQ+ immigrants like Pauline who are currently experiencing detention… LGBTQ+ human rights advocates and advocates for reproductive freedom and justice share solidarity around bodily autonomy. We say ‘my body my choice’ because each person should have control over surgeries and procedures performed on them. Pauline was denied that choice and the U.S. government and ICE continue to further cause her pain and exert control over her body by keeping her in a cage instead of with her community.”
Advocates for Binam are encouraging people to sign a petition in support of her release; donate to cover expenses she incurs while detained or once released, and contact officials with Stewart Detention Center and ICE.
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