ICE seeks ruling on detainee hunger strike at Conroe site
Federal officials are asking permission to continue force feeding an immigrant from Bangladesh who is on a roughly four-weeklong hunger strike at a Houstonarea detention facility.
Mahbub Ahmed-Begum has lost about 20 percent of his body weight since he stopped eating on his own last month at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, officials said during a federal court hearing Tuesday in the Southern District of Texas. The center houses men and women of all nationalities detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Doctors at the facility testified that his extreme weight loss could cause irreversible damage to his organs and lead to his death. It could also heighten the risk of exposure to COVID-19, officials said.
Ahmed-Begum told doctors that he would “rather die than go back to his country, because he knows if he goes back they will kill him,” according to testimony from Dr. Uchenna Orazulike. Speaking through a translator at the hearing, Ahmed-Begum said he is “not able to swallow without the fear coming up.”
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen last week granted a temporary emergency request by the the Department of Homeland Security to involuntarily feed the man. Doctors began feeding him through a nasal tube. Tuesday’s hearing, held by phone, centered on a request for a long-term order to continue force feeding.
Hanen had not made a ruling as of Tuesday night.
“Most people cannot survive after 40 days on a continuous hunger strike,” Orazulike said. “People who can survive longer have more fat than Mr. Ahmed does now.”
Richard Kincheloe, the attorney representing the Department of Homeland Security, told the judge that he did not know whether Ahmed-Begum had a scheduled deportation date.
“Due to privacy rules, ICE is
prohibited from discussing individuals engaged in a hunger strike by name or by the specifics of their case absent the detainee’s consent.,” the agency said.
An agency spokesman added: “(ICE) fully respects the rights of all people to voice their opinion without interference. ICE does not retaliate in any way against hunger strikers. ICE explains the negative health effects of
not eating to our detainees, and they are under close medical observation by ICE or contract medical providers. For their health and safety, ICE carefully monitors the food and water intake of those detainees identified as being on a hunger strike.”
Orazulike said Ahmed-Begum weighed 136 pounds before the hunger strike. His weight dropped to 109 pounds by July 13, she said.
Since doctors started feeding him, he has gained back about 1.5 pounds, Orazulike said. She expects his condition
to gradually improve if the judge grants the request for a long-term order.
It’s unclear whether Ahmed-Begum has contracted COVID-19. He was twice tested for the virus over the last month. One test came back positive while the other was negative, officials said.
He was tested again Monday, when he was taken to an emergency room with a fever. Those results have not been returned. He was released from the hospital later that day, and did not have a fever on Tuesday, officials said.
“He is quite depressed,” said a pyschologist at the immigration center. “He does not have a history of mental health problems. His current state of depression is specific to his current situation — based on the idea of returning to his country.”
When asked by the judge for any final comments, Ahmed-Begum only answered: “I just need one chance, only one chance … to stay in this country and survive.”