ICE given permission to force-feed Cuban hunger striker in Texas

newsSep 5, 202624283

Federal court records seen by the Guardian show a judge in the southern district of Texas recently granted Immigration and Customs Enforcement permission to force-feed a detained Cuban hunger striker at the Montgomery ICE processing center near Houston, including by inserting a nasal feeding tube and by performing a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, a surgical abdominal tube insertion that remains in place until removed. The records suggest ICE carried out nasal tube feeding in August and this week successfully asked the court to extend its order; the new order had explicitly authorized the surgical procedure without the man’s consent. The man is likely the 19th hunger striker in ICE custody for whom the agency has obtained authorization to perform involuntary medical procedures since January 2025. Most of his court records are sealed and the Guardian is not naming him because attempts to contact him were unsuccessful. The Department of Homeland Security said the man had resumed eating and drinking and was not being force-fed but did not say whether he ended his hunger strike after the order or how many times he had been force-fed. Human rights groups condemn force-feeding in detention as torture and traumatic; Savannah Kumar, staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, said the use of involuntary surgeries highlights degrading conditions in ICE facilities. The Guardian notes the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy has not previously appeared in other force-feeding cases it reviewed, making the procedure an unusual escalation in methods authorized by courts.

Aaron Parnas

@aaronparnas.bsky.social

NEWS: Trump is not a happy camper after a rough night in the courts. Three courts. Three major losses that upend his agenda. Hegseth grows paranoid and begins mass polygraphs among generals and admirals. ICE cuts open detainee's stomach to insert feeding tube and force feed him without consent.

2372h ago

Break the Silence3

JFC what did i read at the end? ICE DID OR A PHYSICIAN? not that that make it any better but...

Pelle 🇸🇪2

Closing in on the last day in the bunker?

upchuck66.bsky.social2

Cut open a detainee’s stomach?! NO…ENOUGH! We NEED sane human beings with consciences, capable of feeling empathy, guilt & remorse in power, not killer Orcs, from Tolkien’s Lord of The Rings books, who use the power to unleash their need to be brutally sadistic & enjoy inflicting pain on others.

Padedeux1

Hey US people, are you proud of your sh*thole country? Quite sure you are.

Quoting this

DocGaby27

Trump ist nach einer schwierigen Nacht vor Gericht alles andere als gut gelaunt. Drei Gerichte. Drei schwere Niederlagen, die seine Agenda auf den Kopf stellen. Hegseth wird immer paranoider und lässt unter Generälen und Admiralen massenhaft Lügendetektortests durchführen. 1/

Cassie 🥞🍗 kween, expert opinion giver, supergenius, alpha-sigma♀2

Uh, wtf did I just read in that last sentence?

strea3m.bsky.social

@strea3m.bsky.social

"The cruelty of the extreme tactics at ICE’s disposal to end lawful protest, including forcibly cutting into a person's body to insert a tube in their stomach, underscores the horrors happening outside our view in ICE [camps]" GOP is enabling this. Check your voter reg; VOTE them out. iwillvote.com

152h ago

Luke Ontario

@coolhand.bsky.social

There are precious few silver linings these days, so it’s worth pointing out that good journalism and citizens challenging ICE are probably the only reasons they felt like they couldn’t just let him die.

142h ago

Whitney Curry Wimbish

@whitneycwimbish.bsky.social

>> The new order had given ICE permission to operate on him to fit a surgical feeding tube without his consent.

44h ago

Yonette Joseph

@sugarcane99.bsky.social

ICE got permission from a judge to force-feed a Cuban hunger striker inside a Texas detention center in recent weeks, including with the use of a rare, nonconsensual surgical procedure, court records reveal. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

22h ago

Lenticulus

@lenticulus.bsky.social

ICE’s concentration camps now using “involuntary” ABDOMINAL surgery on uncooperative hunger-striking detainees, none of whom are being held for any crime. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

32h ago

Cameron L. Mitchell

@cameronlmitchell.bsky.social

ICE given permission to force-feed Cuban hunger striker with gastric tube Trump's ICE thugs are torturing people We ok with that America? #AbolishICE

22h ago

carpenter22.bsky.social

@carpenter22.bsky.social

That's one thing they'd never have to do to Taco. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... ICE given permission to force-feed Cuban hunger striker with gastric tube

14h ago

manchester18.bsky.social

@manchester18.bsky.social

Judge gives ICE permission to surgically place feeding tubes in the abdomens of inmates on hunger strikes. Absolutely unbelievable. Is #Maine Sen Susan Collins concerned? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

25h ago

EllisonX

@ellisonx.bsky.social

Those ICE guards will be lining up in gleeful anticipation of inflicting THAT torture on this poor Cuban who never did anything illegal & has never been charged with anything. Next they'll be water-boarding detainees for fun www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

13h ago

Lola Gayle

@lolagaylec.bsky.social

Fucking barbaric Guardian - 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.

11h ago

Paul Williams

@paulnwilliams.bsky.social

Horrific. This article is suggesting a person with capacity had a non-consensual surgical procedure performed on him, approved by a court of a law. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

13h ago

Empowering Main St. Before Wall St.

@rchady.bsky.social

The man is likely the 19th hunger striker in #ICE detention where the agency has had an application approved to conduct “involuntary medical procedures” since January 2025. The rising number of cases has accusations of mistreatment inside facilities.

2h ago