ICE detention hunger strikes surge across U.S. facilities

Hundreds of non‑citizen detainees held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have launched hunger strikes at dozens of detention centers nationwide to protest what advocates describe as widespread denial of due process and inhumane conditions. The grassroots group La Resistencia documented 18 strikes involving about 25 individuals at the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWPIC) in Tacoma, Washington, and estimates roughly 500 detainees have participated overall. Strikes have also been reported at facilities in California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, and New Jersey.

Detainees allege unsanitary food and water, lack of medical care, physical and racist abuse, and retaliation for filing complaints. ICE has denied the protests and, according to advocates, attempts to end them through threats or coercion. One case highlighted is Cuban national Rogelio Bolufé Izquierdo, who has undertaken multiple hunger strikes and was transferred nine times in retaliation for his organizing. Josefina Mora‑Cheung, director of organizing at La Resistencia, said, “This year we’ve seen such a skyrocketing of numbers that indicates how much people are willing to put their lives at risk in order to call attention to these conditions that are ultimately life‑threatening.”