US: Migrants force-fed at Texas detention centre

  Six migrants on hunger strike at an immigration detention centre in Texas are being force-fed, officials say. Immigration officials are using plastic nasal tubes to feed four men, which family members say are causing severe nosebleeds and vomiting. The detainees are refusing food in protest against conditions at El Paso Processing Center. Immigration and […]

 

Six migrants on hunger strike at an immigration detention centre in Texas are being force-fed, officials say.

Immigration officials are using plastic nasal tubes to feed four men, which family members say are causing severe nosebleeds and vomiting.

The detainees are refusing food in protest against conditions at El Paso Processing Center.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) says a federal judge authorised the force-feeding this month.

AP says the detainees, mainly from India and Cuba, went on hunger strike to protest against guards verbally abusing them and threatening to deport them.

They are also protesting against the length of time they are being detained while they await legal proceedings.

When a person is force-fed through the nose, a lubricated tube is pushed through the nostril until it reaches the throat. Liquid food is then pumped into the stomach.