ICE given permission to force-feed Cuban hunger striker with gastric tube
Exclusive: court orders seen by Guardian show agency given approval to fit Texas detainee with tube without his consent
TL;DR
- Federal immigration officials received court permission to force-feed a Cuban hunger striker in Texas.
- The permission includes the use of a rare, nonconsensual surgical procedure to insert a feeding tube.
- This is the 19th case since January 2025 where ICE has sought approval for involuntary medical procedures during a hunger strike.
- Human rights organizations condemn force-feeding as torture and believe involuntary medical procedures are painful and traumatizing.
- The Cuban man, who lacks legal representation, was arrested on July 22 and declared a hunger striker three days later.
- The facility holding him is run by the private prison company GEO Group.
- The Department of Homeland Security claims the individual entered the US unlawfully in 1980 and was ordered deported in 2004, with prior convictions.