Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stopped force-feeding detainees who are on a hunger strike, an ICE spokesperson confirmed Friday.
The policy change comes after increasing criticism of ICE’s practice of force-feeding the protesters with nasal feeding tubes.
{mosads}The United Nations human rights office last week said the policy could violate the U.N. Convention Against Torture last week.
A federal judge on Wednesday said the agency had to stop force-feeding the detainees but said he could order a reversal if the detainees’ health declines, according to the Associated Press.
“No hunger strikers housed in El Paso are currently being fed pursuant to court orders at this time,” ICE spokesperson Leticia Zamarripa said in a statement. “Medical staff at the facility continue to closely monitor the health and vital signs of all the hunger strikers to ensure they continue to receive proper medical care.”
A total of 12 men who are being held in El Paso are participating in the hunger strike. Nine of them are Indian and three are Cuban.
The Hill has reached out to ICE for comment.