ICE authorized to force-feed Cuban detainee via surgical tube

A federal judge has authorized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to force-feed a detained Cuban national through a surgical gastric tube procedure. The individual is currently held at the Montgomery ICE processing center near Houston, Texas, following a hunger strike initiated to protest his detention.

Court records indicate this is at least the 19th instance since January 2025 where ICE has successfully sought judicial approval for “involuntary medical procedures” to address hunger strikes. While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated the man has “resumed eating and drinking again” and is not currently being force-fed, the agency did not clarify if the hunger strike had officially ended or how many previous force-feeding incidents had occurred.

Human rights organizations have condemned these involuntary procedures, characterizing them as a form of torture. The increase in such legal requests has occurred under the second Trump administration, amid broader allegations of inhumane conditions and mistreatment within detention facilities nationwide.