Updated July 31, 2026 at 9:02 p.m.:
A Ugandan woman who says she was denied medical care for sickle cell anemia while detained by U.S Customs and Immigration Enforcement was released from custody Friday, following pressure from family, friends and U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey.
Sarafinah Bukirwa was detained in Louisville on July 22 and has an active asylum case, her brother said. A federal judge in Louisville ordered her release Friday and Erin Lytlesen, a spokesperson for the family, said her $1,500 bond was paid.
Lytlesen and representatives for McGarvey confirmed Bukirwa's release Friday night.
"I’m so relieved Sarafinah is finally getting the care she needs and this nightmare is behind her, but so many families are still going through it. As long as this cruel administration continues its campaign of terror in our communities, we have to keep standing up for our neighbors," McGarvey said in a statement.
Original story:
Friends, family and a U.S. congressman say a Louisvillian from Uganda is currently in a medical “crisis” after federal immigration officers detained her a week ago.
Democratic Rep. Morgan McGarvey told reporters Wednesday that Immigration Customs and Enforcement officers detained Sarafinah Bukirwa on July 22 at the Muhammad Ali International Airport. Her family said she suffers from sickle cell anemia, runs a nonprofit to treat the disease and was on her way to a sickle cell conference when she was detained.
Public records show she was taken to the Grayson County Detention Center that day and charged with an unclear immigration offense.
Previous reporting by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting found that the jail is a common holding facility for women detained by ICE in Kentucky.
Since her detainment, her brother, Isaac Kabunga told Kentucky Public Radio he’s spoken with Bukirwa and visited her at the Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky. Bukirwa told him there were days in detention where she didn’t receive medication, or, would receive medicine mixed into water so she wasn’t sure what she was taking.
“This morning I received another phone call again from her, and she was telling me she really needs a hospital,” Kabunga said. “She's never experienced something like this before, and at this point, what I care about is her medical attention.”
McGarvey described the situation as "nauseating" and said he’s working with Kabunga and others to advocate for her proper medical care.
“She is sick, it is a complex medical condition,” McGarvey said at a Wednesday afternoon press conference. “She needs care. We want to make sure she's getting that care.”
McGarvey also said there were “disturbing reports” about how she was detained. In a letter to federal immigration officials, he described reports of officers hitting Bukirwa and stripping her in front of male officers.
In written statements from Bukirwa to her lawyer, she describes mocking comments from jail guards and difficulty getting blankets.
McGarvey is giving ICE officials a week to supply more information about her detention such as body camera footage and schedules for feeding and medication.
“Sarafinah shouldn’t be there in the first place,” McGarvey said. “This woman has done nothing wrong. She’s never been charged with so much as a speeding ticket.”
Bukirwa is originally from Uganda and entered the country in April 2024. Kabunga said she originally entered with a two-year tourist visa and had since applied for asylum.
Kabunga said Bukirwa was on her way to a conference in California for sickle-cell “warriors.” Online event programs show a Sickle Cell Community Consortium was held in Los Angeles beginning on July 22. Bukirwa is listed as the director of a nonprofit registered in Kentucky called “Sarafinah Sickle Cell Society / SASCELLS Inc.”
McGarvey’s office reviewed federal records and said she has a valid work authorization, a pending asylum case and has never been charged with a crime.
This story was updated with new information.
