Shades of Abu Ghraib

The force-feeding of detainees being held in ICE detention centers in El Paso, Miami, San Diego and San Francisco may be the real humanitarian crisis at the U. S. - Mexican border.

Those being force-fed are hunger-strikers; possibly as many as 30 overall at the El Paso facility alone.  The strikers are from either India or Cuba; their strikes were initiated in response to verbal abuse and deportation threats from detention facility guards, as well as long detention periods prior to legal proceedings.

Here's what happens.  Medical personnel typically wind a tube tightly around their finger, put lubricant on the tip, and then simply shove it into a patient’s nose. The patient must also swallow sips of water while the tube is pushed further, down into the throat.

Force-feeding can sometimes be done several times a day.  The procedure causes persistent nosebleeds, and vomiting.

Shades of Abu Ghraib ...