In a harrowing account, Kurdish film-maker and activist Gabar Choli recounts his ordeal at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the United States. Choli, a 40-year-old asylum seeker, was subjected to forced feeding for nearly eight months, from late May 2025 until his deportation in January. This treatment, widely condemned as torture by human rights organizations, was meted out to him by ICE guards who wrestled him to the ground, shackled his wrists and ankles, and dragged him to the detention center infirmary. There, medical staff forcibly inserted a feeding tube through his nose and down his throat, and pumped nutritional liquid into his stomach.
Choli's experience is not an isolated incident. He met another hunger striker, an Afghan man, who was also forcibly fed in the same ICE facility. The Trump administration has not officially acknowledged force-feeding anyone in immigration jails, but an investigation by the Guardian found that since January 2025, the administration has used court orders to subject at least 10 hunger strikers in ICE detention to involuntary medical procedures, including force-feeding. However, sources with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) later revealed that the number is actually higher, with 18 hunger strikers receiving court orders for involuntary treatment.
Choli's story is a stark reminder of the harsh realities faced by immigrants and refugees in the United States. His experience raises a deeper question about the treatment of vulnerable individuals in immigration detention centers. It also highlights the need for greater oversight and accountability in the hands of ICE and the Trump administration. From my perspective, the forced feeding of Choli and others is a clear violation of human rights and a testament to the inhumane conditions that exist in immigration detention centers. It is a practice that must be stopped, and those responsible must be held accountable.
