ICE halts force-feeding of immigrant detainees in Texas – IOTW Report

ICE halts force-feeding of immigrant detainees in Texas

ONN: EL PASO, Texas (Febraury 15, 2019) — The U.S. government has suddenly stopped force-feeding a group of men on a hunger strike inside an El Paso immigration detention center, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.

The dramatic reversal came Thursday 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.

Earlier this week, 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. On Thursday, all force-feeding at the detention center near the El Paso airport had stopped, according to ICE spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa.

“This is a win for us,” said Louis Lopez, who is representing Malkeet Singh and Jasvir Singh, two detainees who are Punjabi Sikhs in their early 20s. “They have a First Amendment right to protest.”

Detained immigrants have sporadically staged hunger strikes around the country for years, protesting conditions they face while seeking asylum. ICE said Thursday there were a total of 12 detainees refusing food, nine from India, three from Cuba. Force-feeding, which began under court order earlier this year, had not previously been reported, and advocates involved said they weren’t aware it had happened before.

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15 Comments on ICE halts force-feeding of immigrant detainees in Texas

  1. This is where criminals wait for deportation.

    Why are the hunger strike people being kept there so long?

    From the web : In El Paso, the detainees are issued different colored uniforms based on their criminal records. Red indicates they were convicted of serious crimes, such as murder, rape and/or robbery. Orange uniforms are for less serious offenders, including those who have committed theft or drug-related offenses. Those who have committed only immigration-related offenses wear dark blue.

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  2. I can remember truck loads of cattle being hauled to Florida, loaded in DC-10’s to go to Costa Rica. These plane were loaded to the Max limit, it would take the entire runway to take off. The military must have pilots and extra plane. How many would a C-5 galaxy carry? Send them home.
    Current number looks to be around 40,000 immigrants in detention, to feed, cloth, free health care, and clean up after, every day. Could be the DNC.

    I’ve always thought we need a new prison on the border. It only has 3 fences. East, West, and North. All illegal immigrants across the US get shipped there. No more overcrowding. They are free run south, everything else is sniper towers.

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