Key facts
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has attempted to subject detained hunger strikers to involuntary medical procedures, including force-feeding, in at least 10 cases since January 2025.
- At least three individuals have been subjected to these procedures, with potentially five cases.
- One Afghan man was force-fed daily for nearly six months in Texas, starting in September 2025.
- A Ukrainian man with mental health issues had his looming force-feeding in Florida stopped by his attorney.
- A Saudi Arabian woman ended up in hospital while on hunger strike in Louisiana and later broke her strike in Texas.
- ICE often seeks emergency court orders for force-feeding, and in six reviewed cases, detainees lacked legal representation during these proceedings.
- The procedure involves restraining hunger strikers while medical staff insert a tube through the nose for nutritional liquid.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reportedly attempted to subject detained hunger strikers to involuntary medical procedures, including force-feeding, in at least 10 cases since January 2025. Human rights organizations widely condemn force-feeding as torture, and medical experts are concerned that such procedures may increase as ICE detains more immigrants.
Among the documented cases is an Afghan man who was force-fed daily for nearly six months in Texas, starting in September 2025 and continuing through March 2026. He was subjected to repeated nasogastric tube insertions under restraint. Dr. Kate Sugarman, a family practice doctor, described the practice as painful and traumatic, stating that hunger striking is an act of desperation.
Another case involved a Ukrainian man with severe bipolar disorder who began a hunger strike at the Krome Service processing center in Miami to protest his detention. His attorney, Katie Blankenship, intervened to stop a looming force-feeding procedure. According to court records, officials had refused to give him his bipolar medication, citing his hunger strike.
A Saudi Arabian woman on hunger strike in Louisiana ended up in the hospital and eventually broke her strike in Texas before she could be force-fed.
The process for ICE to initiate force-feeding typically involves seeking emergency court orders from federal judges. In six of the cases reviewed by The Guardian, detained immigrants did not have legal representation during these court proceedings. Records are often sealed, limiting public oversight. The procedure itself involves detention center guards restraining the individual while medical staff insert a tube through the nose and down the throat to administer nutritional liquid.