Attorney: Hunger-striking immigrants in Texas forced to hydrate

EL PASO, Texas (AP) – An attorney for three Indian nationals seeking asylum in the U.S. says they have been forced to receive IV drips at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas as they approach their third week of a hunger strike.

A court official says the U.S. Department of Justice filed orders with federal judges last week that relate to non-consensual hydration or feeding for four men.

Linda Corchado, who represents three of the four men named in the court orders, says the men have been locked up for months and they are trying to appeal or reopen asylum claims that were denied. She says as of Sunday, they had gone 20 days without food.

Lawyers and activists who spoke with the men fear that force-feeding may be next.

Corchado says the fourth man is also Indian and is represented by another attorney. It’s unclear if that man was also forced to accept an IV.