Reported Hunger Strike Renewed at Michigan ICE Detention Center

Advocates say some detainees at a Michigan immigration detention center — ICE’s biggest in the Midwest — decided Saturday to reignite a major hunger strike that began early last week.

Why it matters: Unsafe conditions, intimidation, medical neglect and delays in legal assistance prompted the protest among hundreds of the detainees at North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, per advocacy group No Detention Centers in Michigan and multiple news outlets.

State of play: Advocates gathered Sunday outside North Lake in solidarity after detainees decided Saturday to renew the hunger strike that most people had paused after several days, a spokesperson for the advocacy group told Axios.

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Zoom in: The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, which provides pro bono legal advice for those at North Lake and Michigan’s other detention centers, confirmed to Axios last week that it spoke with strike participants.

• This one appears more significant than previous hunger strikes there, spokesperson Christine Sauvé told Axios Friday.
• MIRC hears from detainees and families about not receiving medication on time for serious chronic illnesses, delay or denial of medical care, and spoiled and inadequate food.

The other side: An unidentified U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson has refuted these claims, saying in an emailed statement that there’s neither a hunger strike nor subpar conditions at the center operated privately by GEO Group.

By the numbers: North Lake’s estimated average daily population is 1,390, with an average stay of 49 days, per Relevant Research data as of April 2.

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