A federal judge in Miami has authorized U.S. immigration authorities to perform involuntary blood draws and other medical procedures on a group of detainees on a hunger strike.
According to court documents, 10 male detainees from Bangladesh at the Krome Service Processing Center have been refusing to eat since Dec. 2. On Friday, they refused to allow medical staff to examine them.
U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga on Monday approved a petition by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security to force the detainees to submit to the exams.
Altonaga wrote in her order that the blood draws, urinalysis, weigh-ins and other examinations are necessary to assess the health of the detainees.
All the detainees were arrested in Hidalgo, Texas, in 2014 and 2015 while attempting to enter the U.S.
