Hundreds of ICE detainees launch hunger strike at Baldwin facility
Male detainees at Michigan’s largest ICE facility refuse food and work, citing dangerous conditions and inadequate medical care.
BALDWIN, MICHIGAN — Several hundred detained immigrants at the North Lake ICE Processing Center began a hunger strike Monday, protesting conditions and inadequate care at the Midwest’s largest detention facility.
The action involves detainees refusing both food and work assignments at the 1,800-bed facility operated by private contractor GEO Group, according to immigrant rights advocates and relatives of those detained.
Lauren Coman, a member of the activist group No Detention Centers in Michigan, confirmed Tuesday morning that at least 200 detainees from four male housing pods were participating in the strike.
Strike Details and Scope
“We have confirmation from the Echo, Bravo, and the Delta pod,” Coman said. “Along with the hunger strike, we also have confirmation that they are striking from their jobs internally with the GEO Group: Laundry, cleaning, kitchen, etc.”
The hunger strike centers on what organizers describe as “dangerous conditions, a lack of adequate food and medical care, and cruel legal obstacles that have kept many in captivity with no end in sight,” according to a press release from No Detention Centers in Michigan.
Currently, nearly 1,400 people are incarcerated at the facility, according to ICE data.
Ongoing Facility Issues
The Baldwin facility has faced scrutiny over medical care and conditions. Various reports and testimonies have documented that detainees suffer from medical neglect and insufficient food within the ICE facility.
“The newly declared hunger strike represents both a response to the intensification of disturbing trends in immigration enforcement across the region and the country, with deaths in ICE detention now at a record high, and the continuation of a long history of unrest at this isolated Northern Michigan prison,” the press release stated.
Community Response
Protesters gathered outside the Baldwin facility this week to support the detainees. Immigrant advocates plan to continue demonstrations in Baldwin as the strike continues.
“Immigrant advocates plan to gather in Baldwin this week in support of those held against their will and their efforts to secure their freedom,” organizers said.
Both ICE and the GEO Group have not responded to requests for comment about the hunger strike or the conditions cited by detainees.
In recent months, federal immigration judges have been handling increased caseloads from the facility as enforcement actions have intensified across the region.
