Desperate times call for desperate measures, and desperate measures were taken during the last month of 2015 to call attention to the inhumane treatment that’s ongoing in our detention of civil immigration detainees.

In early December, a group of ten men from Bangladesh started a hunger strike in protest of their detention at the Krome Service Processing Center. The men, many fleeing violence in Bangladesh, were originally detained in Hidalgo, Texas, shortly after requesting political asylum when they crossed into the country from Mexico. Most of the men have been in detention for over a year without being granted parole by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while fighting their asylum cases. And this is not a first. Over the last few months there’s been a wave of hunger strikes in various immigration detention facilities in South Florida and across the country.

After an earlier hunger strike by other asylum-seekers, the ACLU of Florida filed a complaint with the DHS Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties regarding ICE’s violation of its own policies in denying parole to asylum-seekers who had a positive determination of a credible fear of persecution in their home countries.  Some of the Bangladeshi detainees were waiting to have their asylum cases heard, while others had been denied asylum and ordered removed.  However, many of them have refused to sign travel documents to return to Bangladesh because they fear certain death there, and thus face indefinite detention in the U.S.

On December 21, as the hunger strike entered its third week, ICE sought and was granted an emergency court order from a federal judge to authorize force-feeding of the detainees through a nasogastric tube while the detainees were in restraints if it became necessary to save their lives or prevent organ failure.  This process, which is incredibly invasive and painful, involves insertion of a tube into the detainee’s nose, snaking it down to the stomach, and forcing a liquid nutritional supplement down the tube.

Not only is the force-feeding process of competent individuals inherently cruel, inhuman, and degrading, according to national and international medical authorities—including the World Medical Association (the preeminent international organization in the field of medical ethics and practice), the American Medical Association (which is a member of the WMA), and the International Committee of the Red Cross — “Forcible feeding is never ethically acceptable. Even if intended to benefit, feeding accompanied by threats, coercion, force, or use of physical restraints is a form of inhuman and degrading treatment.”

With the looming threat of being force-fed, the detainees ended their hunger strike on December 23.  Mahmudul Hasan, one of the hunger-strikers said, “We came here to escape violence and danger in our country.  But it seems like this place is like Guantanamo.  ICE would rather force feed hunger strikers than listen to our basic demands for freedom.”

Local advocacy groups organized a protest outside of the Krome detention center to protest ICE’s coercive tactics to prevent the detainees from exercising their First Amendment rights. And faith leaders from diverse congregations in South Florida published a letter condemning the treatment of the striking detainees, saying, “While it may be difficult for many of us to identify with the actions taken by these desperate men, we should respect their decision and not submit them to further violence and degradation. As of Wednesday evening, the fearful men did break their fast due to the threat of force-feeding; in other words, political asylum seekers fleeing violence were threatened with violence in order to induce them to eat.”

*To be clear, because force-feeding of hunger-strikers is cruel, inhuman, and degrading, we oppose it at Guantánamo, too.

By Rebecca Guterman, ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief

Since the devastating attacks in Paris and the mass shooting in San Bernardino, the United States has seen a spike in hate crimes against Muslims, efforts by governors in 30 states to bar the resettlement of Syrian refugees, and dangerous escalation in anti-Muslim rhetoric from presidential contenders.

In an effort to stem the tide of religious intolerance, a variety of civil liberties and faith-based organizations have launched a new campaign, “Know Your Neighbor,” to promote interfaith understanding and protect basic religious freedoms. Last Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union joined a diverse collection of advocates at the White House, including the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, the Center for Inquiry, the Hindu American Seva Societies, Muslim Advocates, the National Council of Churches, the Sikh Coalition, and others to help build knowledge and tolerance in this time of increasing divisiveness about religious liberty – a value we believe is at the heart of the American experience. 

The Know Your Neighbor initiative offers a pledge for all to sign, affirming the intention to get to know fellow Americans of all belief systems and to speak out against hatred for and misinformation about others.

Two of our clients, who attended last week’s campaign launch at the White House, know all too well the importance of the ideals expressed in this pledge. Scott Lane’s stepson, C.C., attended a public school in Louisiana where teachers harassed him because of his Buddhist faith. C.C.’s teacher told his class that Buddhism was “stupid,” and school officials told Scott and his wife that they were in the “Bible Belt” and would have to accept the school’s constant promotion of Christianity and disparagement of C.C.’s faith.

Scott Lane and Iknoor Singh at the White House.

Iknoor Singh, a Sikh student at Hofstra University, was prohibited from joining ROTC because of his religious appearance, which includes a turban, beard, and unshorn hair. When he applied for a religious accommodation, the Army denied his request (even though they had granted thousands of similar accommodations for non-religious reasons).

With the help of the ACLU, Scott and Iknoor both fought this religious discrimination and won. And the ACLU will continue to defend the religious rights of all, majority and minority faiths alike (see a list of our work in this area here). But, while litigation and advocacy are key tools in protecting religious liberty and religious pluralism, so too is the type of community outreach promoted by Know Your Neighbor.

So, as the New Year approaches, make a resolution: Get to know your neighbor and those in your community, even if you don’t share the same faith or belief systems, and stand up against hate. Now, more than ever, it could be your most important New Year’s resolution to date.

To learn more about the initiative and what you can do to help, go to http://knowyourneighbor.us/.

This piece originally appeared on the ACLU's Speak Freely blog.