A New Jersey nurse is demanding $500,000 from the Trump administration after federal immigration agents allegedly threw her to the ground outside a Newark detention center, fracturing her kneecap and leaving her with concussion symptoms while she attempted to provide medical assistance to an injured woman.

Medical Professional Violently Detained

Norma Bowe, a nurse clinician and associate professor of public health at Kean University, was operating her mobile health clinic outside Newark’s Delaney Hall detention center on May 25 when the incident occurred. Bowe runs the clinic through the Reformed Church of Highland Park, providing blood pressure checks, cancer screenings, mental health support, and first aid to families visiting detained individuals. She told reporters that someone requested her assistance for an injured person near one of the facility’s gates.

Bowe described seeing a young woman being dragged along the ground by agents, with her shirt pulled off as she screamed for help. When Bowe moved closer to provide medical assistance while wearing a bright red stethoscope, agents grabbed her from behind. The administrative claim alleges two agents attacked her simultaneously, throwing her forward with enough force that she became airborne before striking the pavement face-first.

Agents Refused To Provide Assistance

Video footage from the scene shows Bowe, clearly identifiable by her white shirt and red stethoscope, stepping into the crowd before officers threw her to the ground. According to the legal filing, members of the public helped Bowe after her fall, while the agents involved and other federal officers at the scene offered no assistance. Bowe said she immediately sat up because she feared the agents might attack her again. She returned to her mobile clinic before seeking emergency treatment at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

Unrest At Detention Facility

The violent confrontation occurred during a period of significant unrest at Delaney Hall, where detainees staged hunger strikes and labor strikes while advocates raised serious concerns about medical care, food quality, and treatment inside the facility. Bowe had been visiting the detention center approximately twice monthly to provide medical support after a student’s husband was detained the previous year. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to the specific allegations in Bowe’s claim, instead referring media outlets to a statement issued after the May 25 incident without addressing the assault accusations.