Guardian investigation reveals ICE forcibly treated hunger-striking detainee with force-feeding, catheterization, or blood draws

On July 28, 2026, the Guardian revealed that the Trump administration subjected at least one hunger-striking immigration detainee to forced medical treatment, a practice medical and human rights groups describe as torture. An ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC) document, published online in February 2026 and reviewed by the Guardian, discloses that an unnamed patient who began a hunger strike between October and December 2025 "was subject to force feeding, hydration, or forced urinary catheterization, or involuntary blood draws." It is the first documented confirmation that such forced treatment actually occurred under the current administration, as opposed to merely being threatened.

To forcibly treat a hunger-striking detainee, ICE must first obtain an order from a federal judge; immigrant-rights attorney Eunice Cho said such orders are often a "rubber stamp" because many detained immigrants lack legal representation. The same IHSC document discloses that at least seven detained people were on hunger strike as of February 2026, and that the agency forecast a budget of $168,928.01 for hunger-strike-related external medical care in fiscal year 2026 — a disclosure produced in response to a Senate Appropriations Committee reporting requirement.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not answer the Guardian's questions about what forced treatment was administered or how many hunger strikers and forced treatments ICE has accounted for since February; in a statement, DHS said only that "all detainees are provided with three meals a day." The disclosure follows hunger strikes at ICE facilities nationwide, including at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey, and Adelanto in California, where advocates say strikers faced retaliation, solitary confinement, and transfers rather than treatment of the underlying conditions driving the protests.