MIAMI — A federal judge Monday authorized the force-feeding of a group of immigration detainees in Florida who have been on a hunger strike for nearly three weeks.
All 10 men who began the hunger strike Dec. 2 at the Krome Service Processing Center are from Bangladesh. As of Monday, seven still refused to eat, and they entered U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga’s courtroom in wheelchairs.
Altonaga previously granted a petition from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security permitting involuntary blood draws and other medical procedures.
On Monday, the judge authorized Krome medical staff to restrain and force-feed the detainees through nasal-gastric tubes if it becomes necessary to save their lives.