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Immigrant hunger strikers in Washington state could be force-fed
Source: Reuters
Immigrant hunger strikers in Washington state could be force-fed
BY JONATHAN KAMINSKY
OLYMPIA, Washington Tue Mar 11, 2014 2:02am EDT
(Reuters) - Dozens of detainees on the fourth day of a hunger strike protesting U.S. deportations and detention center conditions at a Washington state immigration facility were being medically evaluated on Monday and could be force-fed, a federal agency said.
As of lunchtime on Monday, some 130 detainees of a total of roughly 1,300 were continuing to refuse to eat, but some of them may be eating food purchased from the commissary at the privately run Northwest Detention Center, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement.
Involuntary feeding "only happens when it is absolutely medically necessary," said Andrew Munoz, an ICE spokesman in Seattle. "The main concern is to ensure they remain healthy."
But a lawyer backing the group, which planned to carry on the strike at least until Tuesday, said they face intimidation tactics by the prison, such as open threats of forced feeding and efforts to isolate strike leaders.
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BY JONATHAN KAMINSKY
OLYMPIA, Washington Tue Mar 11, 2014 2:02am EDT
(Reuters) - Dozens of detainees on the fourth day of a hunger strike protesting U.S. deportations and detention center conditions at a Washington state immigration facility were being medically evaluated on Monday and could be force-fed, a federal agency said.
As of lunchtime on Monday, some 130 detainees of a total of roughly 1,300 were continuing to refuse to eat, but some of them may be eating food purchased from the commissary at the privately run Northwest Detention Center, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement.
Involuntary feeding "only happens when it is absolutely medically necessary," said Andrew Munoz, an ICE spokesman in Seattle. "The main concern is to ensure they remain healthy."
But a lawyer backing the group, which planned to carry on the strike at least until Tuesday, said they face intimidation tactics by the prison, such as open threats of forced feeding and efforts to isolate strike leaders.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/11/us-usa-immigration-washington-idUSBREA2A08N20140311