By GARANCE BURKE AND MARTHA MENDOZA
Associated Press

Federal immigration officials tell The Associated Press they are force-feeding six detainees during a hunger strike that's gone on for a month inside a Texas detention facility.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says 11 detainees at the El Paso Processing Center have been refusing food.

Detained immigrants and their advocates told the AP there are actually closer to 30 detainees from India and Cuba who have been refusing to eat in protest of the conditions of their confinement. ICE spokeswoman Leticia Zamarripa says another four detainees are on hunger strikes in Miami, Phoenix, San Diego and San Francisco.

Zamarripa says a federal judge authorized nose-to-stomach force-feeding of some El Paso detainees.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.