Federal immigration officials were force-feeding six immigrants through plastic nasal tubes during a hunger strike that’s gone on for a month inside a Texas detention facility, The Associated Press has learned. ICE officials said they closely monitor the food and water intake of detainees identified as being on a hunger strike to protect their health and safety. Media reports and government statements don’t indicate immigration detainees actually underwent involuntary feeding in recent years, opting to end their hunger strikes when faced with nasal intubation. In Tacoma, Washington, where immigration detainees have held high-profile hunger strikes in recent years, courts have ordered force-feeding at least six times, according to court records. Since May 2015, volunteers for the nonprofit Freedom for Immigrants have documented 1,396 people on hunger strike in 18 immigration detention facilities.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer January 31, 2019 06:00 UTC