Gabar Choli, a 40-year-old Kurdish asylum seeker, has recounted his experience of being force-fed by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while in detention in south Texas. Choli, a film-maker and activist, was on hunger strike for over two months in June 2025, protesting for improved conditions and his release or deportation.
He described being shackled, pinned, and having a feeding tube forcibly inserted through his nose and down his throat, a routine he said occurred sometimes twice daily. A Guardian investigation, based on court records and interviews, found Choli was intermittently force-fed for nearly eight months, from late May 2025 until his deportation in January 2026.
Choli reported suffering from swollen sinuses, a damaged esophagus, stomach problems, and psychological torment. Dr. Chanelle Diaz, an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University, reviewed available court records for Choli's case and stated that the process "likely amounts to torture."
The Trump administration has not officially acknowledged force-feeding in immigration jails. However, sources within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE's parent agency, informed the Guardian that ICE received court orders for involuntary treatment for 18 hunger strikers between January 2025 and 4 August 2026.