400+ ICE Detainees of 9+ Nationalities on Hunger Strike
September 2, 2026, 12:10 p.m.
MEMPHIS, TN - 400+ detained immigrants enter their third day of hunger strike, September 3rd, 2026, at the West Tennessee Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Detention Facility. Detainees are protesting deplorable conditions and coercive tactics used by ICE in the Core-Civic Facility, including physical abuse used to force them to sign deportation papers.
The strike started one day after the largest ICE raid in Memphis history, where federal agents arrested over 100 immigrants and citizens after trapping them at El Corralón nightclub in the first hour of Sunday, August 30th.
A Venezuelan detainee on the Spanish-language news outlet Nashville Noticias publicized the strike. The detainee mentioned that he and all 400+ male detainees inside the facility were on hunger strike since the morning of Sunday, August 30th. There is currently no information on whether the women’s ward is also on strike. He told Nashville Noticias that immigrants from at least nine nationalities: “Venezuela, Colombia, South Asia, Russia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras” are all united on strike. The strikers started with just a few willing to fight, and now the entire men’s section of the facility is on strike.
He told reporter Veronica Salcedo that: “[The guards] come through our cell blocks very early in the morning and also around 10 am, to find people to work in the kitchen, and so far no one has shown up.”
The detainees are forced to work in the kitchen daily, but currently all the detainees are withholding their labor as they continue to go on hunger strike due to the nature of the conditions inside. Detainees are being fed inedible food and are refusing to comply with CoreCivic’s compulsion on them to work in the kitchen as long as they continue to receive meals that are entirely unfit for consumption.
He then shared how agents inside the facility call detainees into a separate room, where they are coerced into signing deportation papers. If they refuse, agents call on security guards to batter the detainees and force their fingerprints onto deportation papers. There have been reports from detainees of up to five agents physically restraining people and twisting their arms to force their fingerprints. The result of this is that detainees are no longer able to continue their legal fight for proper immigration proceedings, violating any semblance of due process.
Another detainee joined on the line with Nashville Noticias to corroborate the stories, with his personal testimony of physical abuse and coercive measures used by ICE agents.
“They forced me to sign the order, pushing my fingerprints on the order. It does not have my signature on it like it should because I won’t sign it. I have a family here... I won’t be able to see the judge anymore. I am Venezuelan.”
In addition to forcing people to sign deportation orders, detainees have been provided no information on the progress of their immigration proceedings. Detainees have been without communication around their cases for up to seven months, with no court dates or access to information regarding the progress of their case provided to them.
A wife of a detainee on hunger strike said:
My husband called me. He was stressing the hell out and was saying that there is a lot of mistreatment happening and he cannot say much because the calls are being recorded. He wants the people outside to know what is happening and that they are on hunger strike.
She has been blocked from being able to video call her husband for months.
The strikers’ demands are as follows:
1. Better treatment for all detainees, including feeding detainees edible food.
2. End the threats and physical abuse and restraint used to force people to sign deportation papers.
3. Respect the immigration process and the rights of detainees, following due process. Give detainees full access to their case information.
The demands directed toward the consulates representing the nations of the striking detainees are: Uphold your right and responsibility under international law to investigate the conditions, visit the detention center, and intervene against the human rights violations against your nationals.
This strike follows a national wave of hunger strikes in detention centers across the country, with the largest one being at Delaney Hall with over 300 detainees. The Delaney Hall strike continued for multiple months with supporters and family members keeping a strong presence outside while the strike continued inside.
Source: Memphis 4 Revolutionary Socialism
