Immigration Detainees On Day 19 of Hunger Strike As ICE Warns Of Force Feeding

By
Karen Yi
WNYC News | Dec 2, 2020

A group of detained immigrants in New Jersey remains on a hunger strike at the Bergen County jail, with some refusing food for as long as 19 days. 

The eight immigrants participating in the hunger strike want to be released so they can wait out their deportation cases at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wilson Peña, 40, is only consuming water and has lost 24 pounds. He and another detainee told WNYC an official from Immigration and Customs Enforcement warned the group on Wednesday that they'd be force fed if they didn't end their protest.

A judge in 2018 ordered a detainee transferred from New Jersey to Texas to be force fed up the nose while being held down by guards.

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Karen Yi

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