Kurdish Filmmaker Describes 'Brutal' ICE Force-Feeding Ordeal: 'They Shoved the Tube So Hard It Tore My Nose'

In June 2025, Gabar Choli, a Kurdish filmmaker

In June 2025, Gabar Choli, a Kurdish filmmaker, found himself bracing for another violent encounter. Emaciated, with hollow cheeks and ribs visible beneath his skin, he awaited the guards who would once again storm into his cell at the Port Isabel immigration detention center in southern Texas.

Choli was held in a solitary confinement medical unit within the facility, one of many immigrants swept up in the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement. For months, he endured what he describes as 'inhumane' treatment, including being shackled, pinned down, and force-fed through a nasal tube.

The physical pain was excruciating. He recounts an incident where a guard shoved the tube so forcefully that it tore his nose, leaving a permanent scar. But the emotional trauma, he says, cuts even deeper. 'They treated me like an animal,' Choli told reporters, his voice trembling with the memory of the repeated assaults.

The force-feeding episodes were part of a broader

The force-feeding episodes were part of a broader pattern of resistance and retaliation, according to Choli. He had been on a hunger strike to protest his detention and the conditions he faced, a common tactic among detainees seeking to draw attention to their plight. In response, ICE officials implemented a policy of forced feeding, which they defend as a medical necessity to prevent self-harm.

However, Choli and his legal advocates argue that the procedure was conducted with unnecessary cruelty, violating medical ethics and human rights. 'This is not care; this is punishment,' said his attorney, who has filed complaints with federal authorities. Medical experts have also raised concerns about the use of such invasive procedures, noting that they can cause severe physical and psychological damage.

Now, after his release, Choli bears the marks of his ordeal, both on his body and in his mind. He struggles with nightmares and a profound sense of betrayal by the system he once believed in. His story is a stark reminder of the human cost of immigration policies that prioritize enforcement over dignity, leaving lasting scars on those who pass through the system.