ICE halts force-feeding detainees on hunger strike at El Paso immigration detention center
EL PASO, Texas – The U.S. government has stopped force-feeding a group of men on a hunger strike inside a Texas detention center, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday.
Nine immigrants from India on a hunger strike were being force-fed via nasal tubes at the El Paso Processing Center.
The dramatic reversal comes as public pressure was mounting on ICE to halt the practice, which involves feeding detainees through nasal tubes against their will. Last week, the United Nations human rights office said the force-feeding of Indian hunger strikers at the facility could violate the U.N. Convention Against Torture.
There are 12 detainees – nine from India and three from Cuba – on a hunger strike in El Paso as of Thursday morning, ICE said in a statement. No hunger strikers were being force-fed on court-approved orders, ICE added.
On Wednesday, a U.S. district judge said the government had to stop force-feeding two of the detained Indian immigrants, but warned that if their health started to decline he would consider ordering force-feeding again, their attorney said.
“This is a win for us,” said Louis Lopez, who is representing Malkeet Singh and Jasvir Singh in the case heard Wednesday in El Paso. Both men are Punjabi Sikhs in their early 20s and were seeking political asylum. “They have a First Amendment right to protest.”
During President Donald Trump's campaign rally Monday inside the El Paso County Coliseum, protesters momentarily unfurled a banner in support of the "El Paso 9."
Detained immigrants have sporadically staged hunger strikes around the country for years, protesting conditions they face while seeking asylum. But force-feeding, which began under court order earlier this year, has not previously been reported, and advocates involved said they weren’t aware it had happened before.
More: Immigrants on hunger strike being force-fed at ICE detention center in Texas
U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama closed the first part of the hearing to the public because of a federal law regarding health privacy since it dealt with the present condition of the two detainees and the status of their force-feeding.
"The tubes are out," Lopez, the detainees' lawyer later said in open court.
"You weren't supposed to say that. That was in the closed portion of the hearing," Guaderrama responded.
Lopez, along with lawyers Lynn Coyle and Rebecca Reyes, are representing Jasvir Singh and Malkeet Singh in the forced-feeding case. The detainees have another lawyer for their immigration cases.
Guaderrama commented that he had never seen a forced-feeding case, saying it raised several questions. "What is involved in forced feeding?" he said. "What is involved in allowing someone to starve to death?"
Guaderrama explained that court documents were sealed because of health privacy concerns.
ICE reported that the hunger strike began with two detainees on Dec. 30 before others joined the fast. In January, ICE obtained court orders so detainees could be "hydrated and fed non-consensually."
Feast, fasting and force
Dr. Michelle Iglesias, the El Paso detention center's staff physician, testified in closed court about the condition of the two detainees. In open court, she said that forced-feeding is implemented because of the damage prolonged starvation does to the body.
Iglesias said that hunger strikers are monitored and repeatedly informed of the dangers of starvation and dehydration.
After 15 days, the body starts suffering significant damage, muscle loss and the heart and other organs are affected, Iglesias explained. Starvation can be very painful, including muscle cramps, back pain from kidney problems, heart palpitations, foggy vision, trouble walking and fainting.
More: ICE tried to deport a U.S.-born Marine, and his mom wants to know why
"Food is always provided and encouraged every single day until we reached this point" of forced-feeding, Iglesias said.
The detention center even offered the strikers that "we would cater a feast for them of (Indian) foods they would find appealing," Iglesias said.
When food was refused, staff had to "use the force" and begin forced-feeding, she said.
During forced feeding, detainees are strapped down in a sitting position on a medical bed and feeding is done through a lubricated tube inserted through the nose, Iglesias said.
During questioning by Lopez, Iglesias admitted there is a risk of injury if the feeding is done against a patient's will. Patients can suffer bruising, pain, soreness and bleeding.
Lopez said the American Medical Association has condemned force-feeding hunger strikers as unethical.
Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said last week the office views force-feeding as potential “ill treatment” that would go against the U.N. Convention Against Torture, ratified by the United States in 1994.
The Geneva-based office’s statement echoed concerns raised by 14 Democratic lawmakers who have asked ICE for more information about the nine Indian men who were force-fed through nasal tubes.
Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow Daniel Borunda on Twitter: @BorundaDaniel
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: ICE halts force-feeding detainees on hunger strike at El Paso immigration detention center
