In June 2025, a thin and frail Gabar Choli braced for another intrusion by immigration detention center guards into his cell; Choli was held in solitary confinement at the Port Isabel service processing center, an ICE facility in south Texas. Choli, a 40-year-old Kurdish asylum seeker, had been on a hunger strike for over two months, demanding better conditions and release or deportation.

Force-Feeding and Physical Trauma

On the day in June 2025, Choli’s nose was swollen, and his throat hurt from previous treatments he never consented to. Choli recounted the ordeal to The Guardian, stating that guards would rush him, wrestle him to the concrete cell floor, and drag him to the infirmary. There, he was pinned down while medical staff inserted a feeding tube through his nose and throat, pumping nutritional liquid into his stomach.

Choli described the experience: ‘Two guards would hold my feet; two hold my hands; one hold my head – and they would shove tubes in my nose.’ He continued, ‘It’s not easy to be wrestled to the ground twice a day by men that are stronger than you. And you just take it. You have 60cm of tube going through you and you just feel every centimeter of it.’

Legal and Medical Responses

A Guardian investigation found that Choli was force-fed by ICE for nearly eight months, from late May 2025 until his deportation in January; he was not alone; an Afghan man also underwent similar treatment at the same facility. Force-feeding is widely condemned by human rights groups as torture. Choli and others use hunger strikes as a last resort against harsh detention conditions.

Choli suffered from swollen sinuses, a damaged esophagus, stomach problems, and psychological torment. He said the experience ‘mentally broke me.’ After sessions, he described being returned to a solitary cell where he would choke on his own blood. Some of his court records are sealed, and he did not have a lawyer, so some details in his account remain uncorroborated.

Government and Legal Responses

The Trump administration has not officially acknowledged force-feeding anyone in immigration jails. However, a Guardian investigation found that since January 2025, the administration used court orders to subject at least 10 hunger strikers in ICE detention to involuntary medical procedures, including force-feeding. Later, sources from the Department of Homeland Security indicated that between January 2025 and 4 August 2026, ICE received court orders for involuntary treatment for 18 hunger strikers.

DHS did not respond to specific questions about Choli’s case but issued a statement: ‘ICE respects an individual’s right to refuse medical treatment where appropriate. However, when an individual’s medical condition presents a serious risk of death or permanent harm, or when other compelling legal or operational interests are implicated, ICE may seek judicial authorization for appropriate medical interventions consistent with applicable law.’

Dr. Chanelle Diaz, an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University, stated, ‘This likely amounts to torture.’ She evaluated other ICE force-feeding cases and advocated for hunger strikers’ release. She noted the difficulty in capturing the long-term risks involved in Choli’s case.