In the heart of south Texas, within the confines of the Port Isabel service processing center, a grim reality unfolded for Gabar Choli. A 40-year-old Kurdish asylum seeker and activist, Choli found himself in a solitary confinement medical cell, his body weakened by a hunger strike that lasted for over two months. His demand was simple: improved conditions for detained immigrants and a resolution to his immigration case.
Choli’s ordeal began in, when he was subjected to a brutal routine by ICE detention center guards. They would rush into his cell, wrestle him to the floor, shackle his wrists and ankles, and drag him to the infirmary. There, medical staff forcibly inserted a feeding tube through his nose and down his throat, pumping nutritional liquid into his stomach. This excruciating process, known as force-feeding, is widely condemned by human rights organizations as a form of torture.
The Brutality of Force-Feeding
Choli described the harrowing experience in vivid detail. ‘Two guards would hold my feet; two hold my hands; one hold my head – and they would shove tubes in my nose,’ he recounted. The physical and psychological torment was immense. ‘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.’
The force-feeding process caused severe physical damage. Choli suffered swollen sinuses, a damaged esophagus, stomach problems, and psychological torment. He described choking on his own blood and drinking it from inside his throat. The repeated tube insertions and removals left his nose and throat swollen, and on one occasion, an ICE nurse tore his nose from the inside, causing it to bleed for days.
The Legal Battle and Government Response
An investigation by the Guardian revealed that Choli was not alone in his suffering. Since, the Trump administration had used court orders to subject at least 18 hunger strikers in ICE detention to involuntary medical procedures, including force-feeding. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acknowledged receiving court orders for these procedures but maintained that any involuntary medical treatment was undertaken pursuant to legal authority and under the direction of qualified medical professionals.
Dr. Chanelle Diaz, an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University’s medical center, reviewed the limited court records available for Choli’s case. She stated, ‘This likely amounts to torture. It’s even difficult to capture the degree of risk that he was being put at, long-term.’ The World Health Organization and other medical organizations have affirmed that it is an individual’s right to decide to go on a hunger strike, as long as they are of sound mind.
Choli’s Journey and Activism
Choli’s life was marked by activism and struggle. A deeply religious Muslim, he had been living in Vancouver, where he campaigned for an independent nation of Kurdistan. His activism drew death threats, leading him to cross the border into the US in 2026 and request asylum. Initially released, he was later arrested in during a check-in with ICE and sent to the Desert View Annex in California, a facility criticized for substandard conditions.
Choli’s hunger strike began on 24, after he refused to sign a deportation order to Iran and demanded better conditions. His protest was met with force-feeding, a process that continued for nearly eight months until his deportation in January. Throughout his ordeal, Choli maintained his dignity and resolve, writing in a declaration to a federal judge, ‘I am not suicidal. I am using hunger strike as the only available option to protest the abuse and mistreatment.’
The story of Gabar Choli sheds light on the harsh realities faced by immigrants in detention centers. His courage and determination highlight the urgent need for reform in the treatment of detainees and the respect for their fundamental rights.
