Key facts
- A document from the ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC) confirms the Trump administration used forced medical treatment on hunger strikers.
- The treatment included forced feeding, hydration, or involuntary blood draws for at least one detainee.
- The IHSC document covers the first quarter of the 2026 fiscal year and was created in response to a Senate directive.
- Immigrant rights advocates have condemned the practice, calling it a form of torture and an admission of poor detention conditions.
- ICE must generally obtain a federal judge's order for forced treatment, a process often lacking due process.
- Previous instances of forced feeding in ICE detention have drawn widespread criticism and international denouncement.
The Trump administration subjected at least one individual in immigration detention to forced medical treatment while they were on a hunger strike, according to a document from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) health service agency. The document, reviewed by The Guardian, details that an unnamed patient received forced feeding, hydration, or involuntary blood draws between October and December of last year.
This revelation marks the first confirmation that the administration has employed such medical practices on hunger strikers. The ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC) document also indicated that seven detained individuals were on hunger strike in February and provided budget forecasts for their care. Healthcare associations and human rights groups have described forced medical treatment of hunger strikers as torture.
Immigrant rights attorneys expressed shock at the disclosure. Eunice Cho, who co-authored a report on the complications of forced treatment, stated that the revelation is "shocking." Sarah Houston, a managing attorney at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), called the IHSC document a "blatant admission" that the government is aware of hunger strikes and, by extension, the dire conditions in detention that prompt them.
Hundreds of detainees across the US staged hunger and labor strikes this summer, protesting unsanitary conditions and alleged mistreatment. Detainees at Delaney Hall in New Jersey and Adelanto in California were among those who participated. Advocates have reported that hunger strikers faced retaliation, including solitary confinement and transfers, and that ICE officials sometimes denied the existence of the strikes or the reasons behind them.
To forcibly treat a hunger striker, ICE typically needs a federal judge's order, a process that advocates say often lacks sufficient due process for detained immigrants. The medical procedures involved, such as nasogastric tube insertion for force-feeding, can be painful and carry risks of serious complications if not performed correctly or if the patient struggles.
Past incidents of forced feeding in ICE detention, including a widely criticized case in 2019 and a video released in 2022 showing an asylum seeker being force-fed, have drawn significant criticism and international condemnation.