El Paso ICE deports Indian men on hunger strike

Immigration officials say two Indian men who were force-fed through nasal tubes while on a hunger strike inside an El Paso detention facility have been deported.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says the two detainees held at the El Paso Processing Center were deported to India on Friday.

ICE spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa said Monday there are nine detainees from India, Nigeria, Turkey, Bissau-Guinea, Pakistan and Croatia who have been refusing to eat in detention centers in the El Paso, Atlanta, San Diego, Miami and Seattle areas of responsibility.

Earlier this year, federal judges authorized nose-to-stomach force-feeding of nine detainees in El Paso. In response, the United Nations human rights office said the U.S. could be violating the U.N. Convention Against Torture because it views force-feeding as potential “ill treatment.”

(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)